Expect to go home salty and sandy after your beach trip this summer.

If you’re heading to a State Parks beach – which in Orange County includes Bolsa and Huntington State Beach, Corona del Mar, Crystal Cove, Doheny and San Clemente State Beach – you won’t be able to take a shower to rinse off after your surf session or clean up after spending the afternoon on the sand.

But you might save some water.

The California Department of Parks and Recreation announced this week it would be shutting down outdoor rinse stations as a water conservation measure. The decision applies statewide and also affects state parks that aren’t on the beach.

The restrictions start Wednesday, and there’s no word on how long they’ll last.

City- and county-run beaches in Orange County have not announced similar measures.

“California is facing extremely severe drought conditions,” California State Parks Director Lisa Mangat said in an announcement. “It is important for all Californians to conserve water at home, at work and even when recreating outdoors.”

According to the announcement, more than 85 million people visit state parks each year, and the No. 1 use of water in the parks is by those visitors.

The department estimates that shutting off outdoor rinse stations will conserve more than 1.2 gallons of water per shower or rinse, potentially saving more than 18 million gallons of water each year, enough to fill about 1,200 average-size swimming pools.

Huntington Beach resident Marla Sarpotdar likes the idea of the water restriction, but wonders whether people will just head home to rinse off the saltwater.

“I think they will just shower at home, so not sure they will save water, but the cost will be transferred from the state to the individual,” she said.

While outdoor rinse stations will be turned off, however, visitors will still have the option to use hot-shower amenities in campgrounds, which take tokens or coins and have an automatic shut-off when time expires.

In campgrounds such as San Onofre State Beach, set up on a bluff and where outdoor showers are visitors’ only resource for personal hygiene, outdoor showers will be left on. But they will be shut off at the surf beaches, said Brian Ketterer, Southern Division chief for state parks.

“Visitors need to make a personal choice on how they use water. There are various options on the market which work as body-rinsing opportunities,” Ketterer said.

Ketterer said state parks and beaches have a 25 percent reduction mandate from the governor’s office. Some areas like Doheny in Dana Point have reduction goals up to 35 percent.

“You’ll probably see the lawn go brown at Doheny,” he said, noting that the city and the state are working to get recycled water into the sprinkler system. “The last thing we want to do is cut an amenity for people wanting to come to the beach, but there are plenty of options.”

At some state parks, other water reduction measures have been put in place, including the installation of low-flow toilets and faucets. In some areas, sinks are being kept dry and replaced with waterless hand sanitizers.

Ketterer, a surfer, said he rinses off with water he keeps in an empty detergent bottle. Darker bottles work best because they warm in the sun and make the water comfortable, he said.

Ketterer said he’s heard a few complaints, but for the most part, the reaction has been positive.

“We have to conserve our water and be more responsible,” he said.

Newport Beach has no plans to follow the state’s move by shutting off showers at city-run beaches, said Mike Pisani, Newport Beach’s municipal operations direction.

About two years ago, Newport Beach installed new valves at its beach showers that shut off quickly and don’t continuously leak if broken. The city also changed to aerated shower heads for a more mist-like flow to reduce water use.

Pisani said beach showers are “an important amenity … for people who want to get the sand off their feet before they get in the car.”

Beachgoer Leslie Harding Lundquist of Huntington Beach said she doesn’t mind the state’s new restrictions, and always brings jugs of water to rinse the kids.

“I always see visitors using the beach showers and just leaving them on anyways. Totally wasteful, so I think it’s a good thing,” she said.

Contact the writer: lconnelly@ocregister.com