Marin Water Lifts Ban On Outdoor Irrigation After Rains Replenish Reservoirs
SAN RAFAEL (CBS SF/BCN) – Marin Water customers were told this week they can use sprinklers or drip irrigation to water their yards after early winter rains replenished local reservoirs.
This week, the Marin Municipal Water District lifted a ban on outdoor irrigation, allowing residents to water up to two times per week in the evenings or early morning hours.
Other restrictions, such as filling swimming pools and at-home car washing, remain in effect, the Marin Water Board of Directors decided Tuesday.
"Our community has done remarkable work to save water during the drought emergency, and we want to keep that momentum going as outdoor irrigation is allowed to resume," said Larry Russell, president of the water district board.
On Tuesday, the board lifted its prohibition on outdoor irrigation, allowing sprinklers or drip irrigation twice per week, before 9 a.m. or after 7 p.m.
A ban on landscape installations for new customer water connections remains in effect.
The district's irrigation prohibition went into effect Dec. 1, along with several other water-use limits and restrictions.
During historic drought conditions last summer, the district saw critically low water supply levels and an imminent water shortage.
Record rainfall in October and December restocked local reservoirs to near-full capacity. Since then the board has eased some drought emergency water limits, first removing indoor household water-use limits and associated penalties in January.
"That rainfall in 2021 did not get us out of our long-term drought emergency. It provided the safety net that the district needed to get out of that imminent water shortage emergency we were facing," said Marin Water spokesperson Adriane Mertens. "That winter rain that we received that gave us a safety net also gave us the gift of time to refocus our efforts on long-term planning around water supply projects that could potentially be implemented to help us in times of future shortages."
The seven reservoirs Marin Water relies on are currently at 95% of their total capacity. At this time last year, they were at 57% of their total capacity.
"We certainly aren't telling our customers here locally that the drought is over. We're removing restrictions that were tied to an imminent water shortage. We're out of that shortage, the immediate, current shortage," Mertens said. "But we are making plans for the long term, as we know dry conditions are here to stay, and we'll be dealing with the effects of climate change for the years to come."
The outdoor irrigation restriction was originally set to be effective through May 2022. The board may consider lifting additional drought emergency restrictions in an upcoming meeting.
Russell said residents can lean on the district's resources for help with water-conscious planning and maintenance of home landscape projects.
The district's WaterSmart Gardening Resources Library can be found at the Marin Water website.
Information on water district restrictions can be found on its water rules page.
Max Darrow contributed to this story.
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