The clinking, sloshing glasses of ice water, dripping onto favorite restaurant tables, quenches thirsty beachfront restaurant patrons day and night.
But you may have to ask for that next refreshing glass of H2O if the restaurant heeds the city’s latest call for water saving efforts.
Recent findings released by city departments indicate San Diegans aren’t doing enough to curb water consumption, according to Mayor Jerry Sanders’ spokesman Bill Harris. This has prompted Mayor Jerry Sanders to declare a stage-1 water emergency this week, calling for a voluntary compliance “water watch,” Harris said.
Even as Sanders urges San Diegans to step up to the “20 Gallon Challenge,” returning figures show people throughout the city are using only 3 percent less water compared to past measurements, according to city documents.
City officials say that’s clearly not enough to stave off an impending water shortage because of statewide drought conditions and other factors.
“By declaring a water emergency, the mayor is letting people know that they’ve got to do more, that we are falling short on our water conservation efforts and that the longer-term outlook is one that requires more attention,” Harris said.
The City Council adopted the mayor’s declaration Monday, July 28, officially taking the city into a stage 1 alert.
While declaring a stage 1 cracks open the floodgates to future mandatory restrictions, City Attorney Mike Aguirre says the city should go directly to the next stage, which requires mandatory restrictions.
“The mayor and City Council have a legal duty to provide water to city residents. The City Council must adopt a new water conservation ordinance that requires the city to maintain a balance between supply and demand.” Aguirre said in a statement.
With California and much of the West in drought conditions, and judicial decisions that could limit access to water from the Sacramento/San Joaquin River Delta, city officials said there is a great need to increase public awareness ” and action ” to save more water.
Sanders’ declaration launches the city into the first stage of a four-stage water emergency system that begins with voluntary conservation that includes prohibitions on lawn irrigation, washing down sidewalks and overfilling private pools and water ornaments.
A stage 2 water alert makes all those cutbacks mandatory and applies “when the probability exists that the City of San Diego Water Utilities Department will not be able to meet all of the water demands of its customers,” according to the city’s municipal code.
Customers using reclaimed water to irrigate would not have to restrict usage, according to city code.
Many water-saving activities have already become part of daily life for water-savvy San Diegans. They include many familiar actions like taking shorter showers and decorating gardens with native vegetation that thrive in drier climates.
Keeping tabs on overfilling swimming pools and overirrigation of lawns have all been recommended by city officials over the years, but only now has the city taken official call to action.
San Diego’s restaurant industry has also been supporting the San Diego County Water Authority’s 20 Gallon Challenge campaign, which urges everyone to save 20 gallons a day through conservation efforts.
Restaurants supporting the movement on a volunteer basis don’t serve water unless customers ask.
But a stage 2 water alert would mandate such water restrictions at the dinner table.
For more information on city water conservation efforts visit www.sandiego.gov/water.