Santa Clara County tells residents to ignore rain and continue conserving water
SAN JOSE (CBS SF/BCN) – Santa Clara county's water agency cautioned that the state is still in a severe drought and residents should continue to restrict water usage to meet conservation goals, despite heavy rains this week.
According to the most recent drought report from the Santa Clara Valley Water District, Santa Clara County's water management agency, countywide water usage dropped by 13% in September compared to the same time in 2019.
That number was short of the 15% three-year conservation goal set out by Valley Water, but the district said that number still signifies a "dramatic increase" in water savings compared to September 2021 when water use dropped by just 7%.
Valley Water officials said that there is still more that county residents, businesses, farms and others can do to help meet or exceed water conservation goals.
It is important to turn off irrigation systems as more rain hits the region. New outdoor watering restrictions prohibit watering landscapes during rainfall and for the next 48 hours after rainfall. Repeated violations could result in fines.
Additional water restrictions include eliminating runoff, midday watering and watering non-functional turf on commercial, industrial and institutional sites.
It is also important, the agency said, to be mindful of indoor water waste at the same time.
Valley Water's board of directors was set to discuss the drought report at its meeting Tuesday afternoon. People can also visit watersavings.org for conservation information.