New water use rules go into effect Friday in Sacramento - Sacramento News

This week, Sacramentans are expected to start taking baby steps to conserve water.

New rules on outdoor water use take effect Friday. The goal is to change the city's thirsty habits and to align with watering rules that have become commonplace in California, as the state works to stretch a limited water supply.

The rules are permanent, and they start slowly. As of Friday, city residents will be banned from watering between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., when daytime heat causes more evaporation. That's two hours more than under the old rules, which restricted watering between noon and 6 p.m.

Residents still will be allowed to water only on alternate days based on address: odd addresses on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday; even addresses on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday; no watering on Mondays.

Also starting Friday, it will be illegal to wash a car without having a shut-off nozzle on the hose. And cars can be washed only on designated watering days.

Sacramento has one of the highest per capita water consumption rates in the nation. Residents each consume about 280 gallons of water per day for all residential uses, compared with the state average of 192. About 65 percent of that usage in Sacramento goes for landscape irrigation, primarily lawns.

via sacbee.com