Drought Emergency: San Jose Mayor Liccardo Proposes Outdoor Watering Limits To 2x/Week, Renews Calls To Conserve
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) – San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo renewed calls for residents to conserve water and proposed outdoor watering restrictions Wednesday as California's ongoing drought deepens.
"As we think about this very serious drought there is a very significant risk that next year is going to be even worse and we have to take measures now," Liccardo said at a briefing in Overfelt Park on the city's east side.
The mayor announced he will introduce a memorandum to the City Council in the next few days that would restrict outdoor watering to two days a week. Officials said odd-numbered and numberless addresses would water on Mondays and Thursdays, while even-numbered addresses would water on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Liccardo said he was also looking at updating the city's Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance to only allow for drought-tolerant landscapes.
"We are going to be pushing forward to ban lawns in new development to ensure that there is drought-tolerant landscaping in all future development here in the City of San Jose," he said. "The reality is these arid conditions, these drought conditions will be recurring and we need to plan for them and it's time for us to change how we develop here in our city."
According to officials, city staff are expected to present revisions to the landscape ordinance to the council next Spring.
Liccardo and other officials urged residents to heed Gov. Gavin Newsom's call back in July to reduce water usage by 15%.
California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot noted that in the last drought between 2012 and 2016, Californians reduced their water usage by 16%, with Bay Area residents leading the way.
"All of these individual actions make a difference. If Californians come together and achieve that 15% water use reduction, we will have enough water to fill state's 3rd largest reservoir," Crowfoot said. "So our actions can matter."
City officials said water saving tips, including the latest water saving rules, can be found by visiting http://sjenvironment.org/waterefficiency.
Correction (10/7/21): A previous version of the story had odd-numbered addresses would be only allowed to water on Mondays and Wednesdays and even-numbered addresses would water on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
