More than 400 homes had been reported for water violations that include running the precious resource off lawns and on to sidewalks and roads. But four months after Gov. Jerry Brown called for a 25 percent reduction in water use from 2013 levels, no fines for water violations have been issued in Hollister.
“So what we’re looking for is runoff,” said Carolyn Grover, a code enforcement officer for the City of Hollister. “I mean the whole idea is to reduce your usage and if your sprinklers are running water down to the storm drain, that’s not going to help the overall goal.”
A total of 416 houses in Hollister had been contacted in some way about their water use as of last week after professionals went out and viewed the property or someone called in a violation.
By the end of the week, Grover had expected 10 compliance orders to be mailed out, she told the Free Lance. These orders are the final line of defense before citations, which come with $100 to $500 fines.
To meet the state’s new requirements, the cities of Hollister and San Juan Bautista prohibited the runoff of water on to public walkways, roads and parking lots. They also limited landscape watering to no more than two times a week for City of Hollister and Sunnyslope County Water District customers and Mondays or Thursdays for those living in San Juan Bautista.
Responding to water violations is a multi-step procedure. Those not using the resource by the rules are first issued a letter from the Water Resources Association of San Benito County. The second offense merits a “compliance” order from code enforcement, which lets them know of the problem, Grover said.
Then come the fines. The first citation is $100, the second is $250 and the third is $500, she said.
The Water Resources Association of San Benito County serves water customers from the City of Hollister, the City of San Juan Bautista, Sunnyslope County Water District and the San Benito County Water District. For more information on how to save water in the drought, go to their website: wrasbc.org.
