Wasting water? Fear ratting neighbors, not relentless cops Most utilities, police say they won't issue citations despite flood of tips on overuse

Rachel Garza, with the East Bay Municipal Utility District, discusses water use with an Orinda resident. Rachel Garza, with the East Bay Municipal Utility District, discusses water use with an Orinda resident. Photo: Tim Hussin, Special To The Chronicle Photo: Tim Hussin, Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 12 Caption Close Wasting water? Fear ratting neighbors, not relentless cops 1 / 12 Back to Gallery

If you decide to spray-wash your driveway in the middle of the drought, God forbid, the cops aren't likely to show up at your doorstep. It's more likely your neighbor will rat you out.

Despite new statewide regulations that will allow authorities to ticket residents for excessive outdoor watering - with fines up to $500 - many Bay Area police departments and water agencies say they don't plan to issue citations.

Most say their current practice of asking nicely for water conservation is working just fine, and they plan to stick to it. Some also say they don't have the authority to issue citations, at least not without jumping through legal hoops. Others simply don't have the time to scout out violators and cite them.

This doesn't mean, however, that you're going to get away with reckless watering.

Many communities have begun urging residents to report people who are wasting water - and the tips are pouring in.

Agencies that set up hotlines and e-mails for snitching on abusers may be reacting to the complaints with lectures about going easier on the spigot, rather than tickets and fines, but that task alone has grown so much that some have had to add staff to take complaints.

"More and more people are aware of the drought and think it's their duty to let us know about waste," said Rachel Garza, water conservation technician with the East Bay Municipal Utilities District. "For them to see someone wasting water while they've been saving, I think that prompts them to contact us."

Hundreds of reports

The East Bay's largest water supplier has received several hundred resident reports of water waste this year - compared with 12 in all of 2013. And that's without enacting mandatory conservation rules, just voluntary measures.

One person reported a father who put a Slip'N Slide in his yard for his child's birthday party. Another complained about a neighbor washing his car every day. The most common complaint, agency officials say, is people watering something that shouldn't be watered, like the sidewalk.

The uptick in calls has prompted the agency to hire two employees to take the reports and investigate.

That is Garza's job. She and her colleagues visit homes and businesses where they suspect water waste. But there's no big-stick approach here, she says. Instead, they kindly tell the offender about the drought and suggest ways he or she can cut back.

"They're usually apologetic, a little embarrassed perhaps," Garza said. "I haven't seen any hostility toward us."

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, which also hasn't imposed water restrictions in its San Francisco service area, has received dozens of complaints about water waste this year as well. It's responded by mailing out 70 letters asking people to conserve better.

The San Jose Water Co. has logged about 100 waste reports since spring, prompting officials to contact alleged abusers or leave them door-hangers requesting that they save more.

The agencies expect to see more calls once the state regulations kick in next month.

The rules approved Tuesday by the State Water Resources Control Board prohibit residents and businesses from using drinkable water to hose down sidewalks and driveways, watering lawns and gardens to the point of causing runoff, washing cars without a shutoff nozzle or using potable water in noncirculating fountains.

The measures, prompted by Gov. Jerry Brown's emergency drought declaration, will remain in effect for 270 days. Violations are comparable to traffic tickets and are punishable with fines of up to $500 a day.

None of the Bay Area's three largest water suppliers has immediate plans to crack down with fines.

Police departments in San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose, which also will have authority to cite water wasters under the new state regulations, say they don't intend to enforce the rules.

Legal uncertainty

Tyrone Jue, spokesman for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, said his agency may consider citations and fines in the future. But at this point, he's even uncertain that the commission has the power to play tough.

Attorneys for the agency were looking at whether the San Francisco Board of Supervisors would have to enact enabling legislation before penalizing residents for violating the state rules.

"The last thing you want to do is start issuing fines if you don't have the authority to do so," Jue said.

EBMUD officials said they, too, would have to formally adopt a new policy should they want to issue penalties.

The San Jose Water Co., a private agency, needs clearance from the California Public Utilities Commission before handing out citations and fines.

The state regulations come as California suffers from three years of below-average rainfall, and water supplies run short in many communities.

While most large water agencies in Northern California with generally greater supplies of water haven't put restrictions in place, smaller communities such as Santa Cruz and Pleasanton have. These areas are already enforcing their own rules with penalties.

State officials say they're not as concerned about suppliers issuing penalties as they are in making sure people conserve.

"The fines are tools and they're available, but we're not looking for every jurisdiction to go out and start fining people," said Max Gomberg, senior environmental scientist for the state water board. "So long as people are reducing their water use, that's the direction we want to go."

Online extra: For more on the state's water problems, go to www.sfgate.com/drought.