Vista Irrigation District - Conservation & Education

Water Conservation
Educational Programs
Drought Response Levels


	Vista Irrigation District 1391 Engineer Street Vista, CA 92081-8836 Phone: 760.597.3100 Fax: 760.598.8757 Email: info@vid-h2o.org Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Monday Through Friday)

DROUGHT RESPONSE LEVEL 4 – Drought Emergency Condition

A Drought Response Level 4 condition applies when the San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors declares a water shortage emergency pursuant to California Water Code section 350 and notifies its member agencies that Level 4 requires a demand reduction of more than 40 percent in order for the district to have maximum supplies available to meet anticipated demands. The district board of directors shall declare a Drought Emergency in the manner and on the grounds provided in California Water Code section 350.

All persons using district water shall comply with conservation measures required during Level 1 Drought Watch, Level 2 Drought Alert, and Level 3 Drought Critical conditions and shall also comply with the following additional mandatory conservation measures:

Stop all residential and commercial landscape irrigation, unless the district has determined that recycled water is available and may be lawfully applied to the use. This restriction shall not apply to the following categories of use.

	A.	Maintenance of trees and shrubs that are watered on the same schedule established during a level 3 Drought critical condition by using a bucket, hand-held hose with a positive shut-off nozzle, or low-volume non-spray irrigation;
	B.	Maintenance of existing landscaping necessary for fire protection as specified by the Fire Marshal of the local fire protection agency having jurisdiction over the property to be irrigated;
	C.	Maintenance of existing landscaping for erosion control;
	D.	Maintenance of plant materials identified to be rare or essential to the well being of rare animals;
	E.	Maintenance of landscaping within active public parks and playing fields, day care centers, school grounds, cemeteries, and golf course greens, provided that such irrigation does not exceed two (2) days per week according to the schedule established by the general manager and posted by the district.
	F.	Watering of livestock; and
	G.	Public works projects and actively irrigated environmental mitigation projects.
	H.	Irrigation of crops and landscape products of commercial growers and nurseries.

Repair all water leaks within twenty-four (24) hours of notification by the district unless other arrangements are made with the general manager.

The district may establish a water allocation for property served by the district. If the district establishes a water allocation it shall provide notice of the allocation by including it in the regular billing statement for the fee or charge or by any other mailing to the address to which the district customarily mails the billing statement for fees or charges for on-going water service. Following the effective date of the water allocation as established by the district, any person that uses water in excess of the allocation shall be subject to a penalty for each billing unit of water in excess of the allocation. The penalty for excess water usage shall be cumulative to any other remedy or fee that may be imposed for violation of this resolution.