Under a Drought Warning, individuals are asked to continue their voluntary conservation of water. The objective of voluntary water conservation is to reduce individual water use by 10 percent or down to 56 gallons per person per day. Under a Drought Emergency, individuals may be required to observe mandatory water use restrictions. The objective of mandatory water use restrictions is to reduce individual water use by 15 percent or down to a low of 55 gallons per person per day. If drought conditions continue to deteriorate during a Drought Emergency, local municipalities may implement local water rationing in a community.
Water rationing requires specific limits on individual water use as set by the local water supplier.
For water rationing to work effectively, all individual homes must have a water meter to record the amount of water used by each household. By reading water meters and knowing the number of residents in each home, the water supplier can determine if the household is violating the water rationing regulation. The following water uses are considered nonessential and are prohibited during a Drought Emergency and Water Rationing. As with every regulation, there are exceptions to the nonessential water use restrictions. Watering lawns, gardens, landscaped areas, trees, shrubs and outdoor plants.