GREENFIELD — Although the drought seems to be in the rearview mirror for now, the City of Greenfield is urging its residents to continue to conserve water with a stage two water conservation level.
Gov. Jerry Brown Jr. receded the drought state of emergency in April of this year, but Community Service Director Mic Steinmann said the order doesn’t mean Greenfield residents should stop conserving water.
“As part of the executive order there was direction to the Water Resource Control Board to continue to implement a number of mandatory water conservation efforts,” Steinmann said. “During the period that these mandatory goals were in place, Greenfield achieved a 24 percent reduction in water consumption.”
According to Steinmann, the city also passed regulations for a water surcharge, and while that surcharge was in effect Greenfield residents reduced their water consumption by 27 percent.
The drought caused the City of Greenfield to be in stage three water conservation program.
Steinmann recommended to the City Council that the water conservation restrictions were reduced to a stage two.
“I think a stage two is more appropriate because it helps continue to put out the message that water conservation and using water wisely really needs to become a way of life,” Steinmann said. “For the average resident water consumer in Greenfield, this means that the main limitation is landscape irrigation. That we will continue to remain on a two day a week basis, before 10 a.m. or after 5 p.m.”
Stage two is a 10 to 25 percent resident voluntary water use reduction. It prohibits non-essential water uses, shutoff nozzles on all hoses, encourages residents to use drip or low volume irrigation, and providing information on ways for residents to improve water use efficiency. Larger landscape users are required to adhere to water budgets. Direct notices will be sent out to all customers and the public information campaign will grow.
The stage two plan also is said to intensify system leak detection and repair, water waste patrols will be increased.
The City Council approved the water conservation levels to be moved to a stage two with the condition that residents could wash down the exterior of their homes on a certain day of the week rather than it being prohibited.
The hosing down of walkways, sidewalks and driveways would still be prohibited.
