Elected leaders recently heard that the City of Ripon’s water conservation efforts are far from being met.

“We’re not meeting our 36 percent reduction,” said Public Works Director Ted Johnston.

By that, he was referring to Gov. Jerry Brown’s mandate to all cities and water agencies on reducing the overall usage due to the severe drought conditions facing the State of California.

The base line here is the current figures as compared to that of 2013.

At the October Ripon City Council meeting, Johnston reported Ripon’s consumption was 22.5 percent for September. This continued a disturbing three-month trend of the City drifting further away from the state target of 36 percent reduction.

Ripon has since received a Notice of Violation from the State California Water Board, according to Johnston.

“If the City’s water conservation numbers do not improve, the State will likely intervene and require the City of Ripon to implement more restrictive water conservation measures such as reducing the number of outdoor watering days per week and / or assessing fines,” he said.

During this time of the year, the most effective way to reduce water usage would be to adjust the amount of time on watering turf and landscape areas or perhaps turning off automatic sprinklers all together, Johnston added.

The City of Ripon will also be offering free household water audits – this could be helpful in indentifying simple conservation measures to reduce water use.

Other ways to conserve water with some cost savings included thanks to the California Department of Water Resources are:

uThe landscape replacement rebate – This program will rebate up to $2 per square foot of turf removed with a maximum of $2,000 per household on single-family residents only. These rebates will be awarded on a first come, first serve basis and are subject to funding availability.

uToilet rebate – Single-family residents can also qualify for approved and new toilets purchased after Aug. 12, using 1.28 gallons per flush in place of the 1.6 gallons per flush toilets. Customers are required to purchase the toilet before submitting the rebate application. The rebate amount should not exceed the purchase of the toilet if less than $100.

For more information on the rebates, including full terms and conditions, log on to www.SaveOurWaterRebates.com.