TUSTIN : Water-Conservation Program in Effect

The City Council introduced a phased water-conservation program this week and will consider imposing rationing later this month.

“The thrust of this is to reduce waste, misuse and abuse of water,” said Gary Veeh, Tustin’s water service manager.

The program has four phases, ranging from a voluntary stage in which the city recommends that residents use less water, to an emergency stage in which all outdoor watering is barred and swimming pools and spas may not be filled.

Written notices will be issued to residents who waste water in the first stage. In later stages, violations will carry fines of $25 and up.

If a resident is issued five violations, the city may install a flow-restricting device in the customer’s water-service line for at least 48 hours and charge the customer $65 to install and remove the device. On the sixth violation, the city may discontinue water service for at least 24 hours and charge the customer $70 to restore service.

Even with these measures, city officials said they believe that rationing will be needed to cope with cutbacks by the Metropolitan Water District.

“The water situation is grim throughout the state,” said Veeh, who noted that in February, Tustin’s water consumption was 12% higher than last year.