Politics & Government
Healdsburg Makes Water Restrictions Mandatory
Residents can only water during the early morning and evening hours, and only every other day. Irrigation is banned on Mondays, and residents aren't allowed to wash their cars at home.
A few days after California's dry spell officially became a drought, the Healdsburg City Council took measures Tuesday to restrict residents to watering every other evening or morning and banning car washing at home.
The council unanimously made mandatory the voluntary water conservation efforts that have been in place for the past year, ABC 7 reported.
"A lot of it's common sense things that people haven't been, you know, probably haven't been doing," Mayor Jim Wood told the TV station.
Irrigation is now banned entirely on Mondays. The car-washing restriction does not apply to car wash businesses which recycle water; both car wash businesses in town recycle their runoff, the Press Democrat reported.
Businesses will be required to use 20 percent less water than they used last year, unless they've already taken significant steps to conserve, according to the Press Democrat.
Healdsburg is the only city in Sonoma County with mandatory water restrictions, the news outlets reported. The restrictions go into effect immediately.
If dry conditions continue, the city could move to "stage 3" water conservation, which would include water rationing.
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