Water Conservation Ordinance

District Ordinance 33

On May 12, 2010, the District Board of Directors adopted Ordinance 33 (PDF), which establishes water use efficiency best practices and staged water shortage demand management measures. The adoption of Ordinance 33 was part of a comprehensive water shortage planning effort to manage the District's response to imported water supply challenges due to low snow pack levels in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, long-term drought conditions across much of the state, and court-imposed reductions in water exports out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

Water Supply Shortage Stages

Ordinance 33 authorizes the Board to implement provisions in the ordinance if it anticipates water supply conditions may not meet the demands of District customers in the foreseeable future.

The following table lists the three possible water shortage stages, the targeted demand reduction for each stage, and the enhanced water use efficiency practices that District retail customers will be required to perform if that stage is declared. District wholesale customers will be required to reduce their use of District water supply by the same percentage as retail customers.

Water Supply Shortage Stages