Water Waste Ticket Blitz to Start this Weekend
(5/22/09)
Stage One watering restrictions have been in place for more than a month now, and the vast majority of San Antonians are alert to correct days and times for outside watering, so San Antonio Water System officials are taking off the gloves. Beginning this weekend, SAWS ‘water police’ will be issuing tickets for watering waste violations; providing warning notices first will no longer be the rule.
“We’ve all been living with these rules for more than a month now, and we’ve even gotten close to Stage Two,” said SAWS Conservation Director Karen Guz, “so it’s only fair to all the folks in the city who are following the rules that we start bearing down and issuing tickets.”
“It’s in everyone’s interest to reduce outdoor watering as much as possible to stave off tighter restrictions,” said Guz. “Every day that we can put off Stage Two is another opportunity for rain.”
Stage One drought restrictions were declared on April 10 when the aquifer level hit 660 feet. Under drought management Stage One conditions, watering days are determined by the last number of your street address, and no one is supposed to be watering on the weekend.
Water waste tickets are processed through municipal courts under section 34-295 of San Antonio’s conservation ordinance. First offense may incur a fine between $50 and $100, second offense up to $250, and third and any additional offense between $1,000 and $2,000, according to the judge’s discretion.
Since Stage One restrictions were declared on April 10, more than 1,400 warnings have been issued. Currently, about 60 water waste complaints come in each day. All complaints receive follow-up by SAWS staff. But SAWS ‘water police’, consisting of off-duty San Antonio Police Department officers, issue citations for violations of the city’s conservation ordinance.
For more details on Stage One drought restrictions, designated days for watering, and a printable flier in English and Spanish for both Stage One and Stage Two restrictions, go t http://www.saws.org/drought.
Water waste can be reported 24 hours a day to 704-SAWS and on our Web site at www.saws.org. All reports receive follow-up.
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