Sign of dry times

Water companies under the umbrella of the California Public Utilities Commission—including Cal Water in Chico—were recently ordered to provide direct notice of mandatory water-use restrictions and potential fines to their customers.

The mandate comes in response to the California Water Resource Control Board’s emergency water-use regulations, adopted on July 15, which prohibit using drinking water for outdoor landscaping in a manner that causes runoff; to wash a motor vehicle with a hose with no shut-off valve; to wash sidewalks; or in a fountain that doesn’t use a circulating system.

Each day a violation occurs will be punishable by up to $500. Go to www.cpuc.ca.gov for more information on the restrictions.

Pete Bonacich (pictured), acting district manager for Cal Water in Chico, said his office had scheduled a conference call for Aug. 21 to discuss the details. Notices, he said, would go out no later than Aug. 24.