By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Ripon water use down 6% in April to April numbers
water

In 2018, the City of Ripon enacted a water conservation ordinance.

Residents have been prohibited from doing any type of outdoor watering between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., and those in homes with odd / even ending-numbered addresses allowed to water their landscape only during specified days of the week.

During the months of March through October, all properties within the City are on a three-day watering schedule.

Last month, residents reduced their water usage by 13 percent, according to the Director of Public Works Director James Pease at Tuesday’s Ripon City Council meeting.

He used the 2013 pre-drought water levels to measure his base-line comparisons.

Furthermore, Ripon water users saved 6 percent compared to April 2021.

But all of those efforts may not be enough given the state’s severe water conditions.

“Nothing is in effect now but (Gov. Gavin Newsom) issued an executive order in late March. He tasked the Water Board with coming up with certain conservation measures that will need to be place by May 25,” Pease said.

The California Water Board, he noted, put together a draft for state-wide water reduction efforts last month.

Included in the proposed statewide regulations are two-day watering week for all user, turning off of all city water features and fountains, and prohibiting non-functional turf irrigation – commercial, industrial, and institutional facilities.

“These are non-recreational fields that are ornamental in nature,” Pease said of the latter. “Those would be prohibited from being irrigated.”

He’ll continue to provide updates.