Over the past five years, Californians have gotten used to seeing new drought restrictions placed on them by their local water companies. One of the most common restrictions that was used to help conserve water was a limit to the number of days that customers could run their irrigation system. Depending on the agency, customers were typically limited to watering two or three times a week.

 

These restrictions have been loosened since California emerged from its historic drought earlier in 2017, but some agencies are taking steps to ensure that water conservation becomes an everyday part of life for their customers.

 

The Sacramento City Council recently voted 6-3 in order to make the two-days-a-week watering restriction a permanent feature of their water conservation strategy. This restriction will begin next year during the months of March through October. There are some significant exceptions in place to help customers ease their way into the new restrictions.

 

The watering day limit will not be enforced during significant heat waves where the temperature reaches triple digits for consecutive days. Drip irrigation is also exempt from these restrictions, as are irrigation systems that utilize the more efficient smart controllers that base their watering schedule on the moisture level in the soil.