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Emergency Water Conservation
Drought Conditions and Emergency Water Conservation Update
Calleguas Municipal Water District (Calleguas) operates as a member agency of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (Metropolitan). Metropolitan provides Calleguas with imported water supplies, which Calleguas in turn distributes on a wholesale basis to water agencies that serve the communities and cities (Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, Camarillo, Oxnard, and Port Hueneme) in southeast Ventura County. Imported water supplies account for approximately 80 percent of all potable water uses in this area.
Virtually all imported supplies delivered by Calleguas originate from the State Water Project (SWP). The SWP is a 700-mile network of reservoirs, aqueducts, and pumping facilities that convey water from the Feather River Watershed (northern Sierra Nevada Mountain Range) to southern California. The SWP system relies on Sierra snowpack conditions, which have experienced a shift in both mean climate and year-to-year variability:
2022 will end as a third consecutive year of drought during which annual precipitation, Sierra snowpack, and resultant runoff levels are below that which is needed to both replenish key reservoirs and meet current water demands.On March 18, 2022, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), operator of the SWP, announced a reduced water allocation from the SWP system following a historically dry winter. The new limited allocation has led to restrictions on outdoor watering as priority must be given to ensuring the health and safety needs of residents.
Metropolitan is limited in its ability to provide water from the Colorado River Aqueduct (CRA) to Calleguas and other areas in southern California to make up for the shortfall in SWP supplies. Calleguas is known as a SWP Dependent Area within the Metropolitan service area:
Metropolitan projects that it will exhaust normal SWP supplies by June 2022 and will then transition to extraordinary supplies intended to meet critical human health and safety (HH&S) needs. Mandatory conservation actions are necessary to preserve the availability of this HH&S supply for the remainder of the year – and into 2023.
On April 26, 2022, Metropolitan declared a Water Shortage Emergency and implemented an Emergency Water Conservation Program (EWCP) for its SWP Dependent areas that effectively limits all outdoor water use to just one day per week. On April 27, 2022, Calleguas adopted the same EWCP and passed through the mandatory conservation restrictions to its own customer water agencies.
Calleguas Municipal Water District Resolution No. 2024 – Stage 2 Water Shortage (08/18/2021)
Calleguas Municipal Water District Resolution No. 2033 – 15% Demand Reduction (11/17/2021)
Calleguas Municipal Water District Resolution No. 2041 – Stage 3 Water Shortage (04/06/2022)
Metropolitan Water District Resolution No. 9305 – Emergency Water Conservation Program (04/26/2022)
Calleguas Municipal Water District Resolution No. 2059 – Non-Functional Turf (11/02/2022)
What to Know About Water Restrictions
What are the restrictions and who is affected?Water agencies must adopt a one day per week watering restriction or find an alternative way to achieve the same savings. Check with your local water provider for specific watering restrictions and limitations.
The restrictions apply to all water agencies that serve the communities and cities within the Calleguas service area. However, a water agency can avoid the restrictions if it takes, and can demonstrate, sufficient action to eliminate its use of Metropolitan supplies at its designated connections to Calleguas.
The affected water agencies within Calleguas can be found here: https://www.calleguas.com/about-calleguas-municipal-water-district/member-purveyors.asp
When will the new rules go into effect?June 1, 2022
How will this be enforced?Local water agencies could face volumetric fines of $2,000 / acre-foot (AF) from Calleguas for non-compliance with the restrictions. Check with your local water agency regarding enforcement at the customer level.
Are there exceptions?The restrictions allow for local control in how the one day per week watering will be implemented and consistent with actions identified in each water agency’s existing Water Shortage Contingency Plan.
Exemptions can be made for school fields, sports fields, and parks. Other exceptions include:
- hand-watering of trees or other perennials to support their health and ability to recover once the outdoor watering restrictions are lifted, and
- allowing drip or other high-efficiency irrigation systems to apply water at a weekly volume consistent with the one-day watering restriction imposed on less efficient irrigation systems.
Turf Replacement Rebates AvailableUp to 70 percent of overall residential water use goes toward the irrigation of outdoor landscapes. A reduction in irrigation - or removal - of existing turfgrass is the quickest method to achieve water savings. Turf replacement rebates are available for homeowners and businesses to remove existing turf areas and replace with a drought tolerant landscape. Due to the one day per week watering restriction, applicants that participate in the program may remove their turf now but postpone new plantings until water supply conditions improve. Rebates start at $3 per square foot of turf removed. Visit SoCal Water$mart to learn more: www.socalwatersmart.com
For a guide on landscape maintenance during the drought, click here.
Drought FAQs and Additional ResourcesMetropolitan Water District Drought Webpage
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