Emergency Water Conservation Measures Go into Effect on Wednesday, June 1, 2022

Due to the significant statewide drought conditions severely reducing water supplies to Southern California Emergency Water Conservation Measures will go into effect on June 1, 2022.

On June 1, 2022, California American Water’s all Los Angeles County District customers should follow the below updated watering schedule.

• TWO-DAY-A-WEEK
  • Odd Address (Addresses ending in 1, 3, 5, 7, 9): Tuesday and Saturday
  • Even Address (Addresses ending in 2, 4, 6, 8, 0): Thursday and Sunday
  • No watering on Monday, Wednesday, or Friday
• To avoid evaporation, we recommend customers water outdoors before 9:00 a.m. or after 8:00 p.m.
• Watering is limited to a total of 10 minutes per station per allowed day
• Low-flow irrigation systems (Including drip irrigation and micro spray) that emits less than two gallons per hour are exempt from day of week and time limitation except for irrigation of turf
• Turf grass irrigation (irrigation timer or garden hose) only permissible on allowed watering day

Customers should check their city’s watering schedule, as some cities may have implemented more restrictive measures.​ We encourage customers to follow their city’s conservation guidelines if more restrictive

Emergency Water Conservation Background

The Metropolitan Water District and Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District (California American Water’s wholesaler) have passed down requirements to limit outdoor watering, effective June 1, 2022.

Per the emergency water conservation measures outdoor water use should be limited to keeping trees and our urban forest alive, with the goal of conserving enough water as a community to retain essential turf at playing fields and parks.

On April 26, MWD declared a Water Shortage Emergency at a Special Board meeting in which they limited outdoor irrigation to one-day-per-week in State Water Project (SWP) Dependent Areas. This action affects approximately 6.6 million people, including the Upper San Gabriel Municipal Water District and California American Water customers, as we serve our customers State Water Project water from MWD. These conditions are a result of the driest three-years on record, the driest three-months in the State’s history, and the lowest three-year total water supply from the SWP.

As a result, California American Water is calling on all Los Angeles County District customers to limit water use to essential purposes, and to prepare to reduce outdoor watering, effective June 1, 2022.

We’re here to help

Water Wise House Calls

FREE Water Wise Surveys are available. California American Water provides free water use consultations for our residential and non-residential customers. For residential customers, a conservation specialist will visit your home, identify ways to help you save water, and even provide free low flow fixtures for your kitchen and bathroom. For non-residential customers, a conservation specialist will calculate an individualized water budget and provide water saving recommendations. Please call your Conservation Specialist at 626-614-2536 to schedule your in home survey.

State Water Board Bans Watering “Non-Functional” Turf With Potable Water

Effective June 10, 2022, the State Water Board has implemented a statewide ban on watering “non-functional turf” in commercial, industrial, institutional areas with potable water. This does not include house yards, parks, or sports fields, but it does include decorative turf at businesses and in common areas of HOAs and housing subdivisions. Non-functional turf is grass that is solely ornamental and not regularly used for human recreational purposes or for civic or community events.

Why is this happening?

The new emergency regulation is mandated by the State Water Board in response to Governor Gavin Newsom’s March 28 Executive Order and aims to improve the state’s water conservation efforts amid the third year of drought. The emergency regulation will remain in effect for one year, unless modified by the State Water Board.

Learn more about the ban by visiting bit.ly/conservationreg.

What do customers need to do to comply?

Owners and managers of commercial, industrial, institutional, and HOA properties must not use potable water for irrigating non-functional turf. If you have questions about conservation and replacing your turf, please contact our Conservation Specialists by clicking on your district listed above.

The enforcement of this ban will be led by the State Water Resources Control Board, although California American Water does send courtesy notices to customers if there are reports of a potential violation. California American Water is permitted to enforce fines should customers not comply, however we are committed to education over enforcement whenever possible.

New Webinars coming in Spring of 2023.

Residential Rebates

CAAW offers residential indoor and outdoor rebates through its partnership with Metropolitan Water District of So. Cal. Please visit socalwatersmart.com for a full list of rebates and to apply.

All rebate amounts and rebate program availability are subject to change.
Please call 1-626-614-2516 to determine current eligibility.

PLEASE NOTE: Customers must not have already received a rebate for the same product at the same address. If a customer has already received a rebate from their water agency or Metropolitan Water District’s SoCalWaterSmart for a qualifying measure or device, they may not apply for that same measure or device a second time.

Commercial Rebates

CLICK HERE for a Commercial Rebate application for the items listed below (except those, which have their own application link). 

Qualified items listed below