Costa Mesa Water District Responds to State Water Restrictions

COSTA MESA, Calif.—Amid California’s ongoing drought, Mesa Water District, a water supplier serving roughly 110,000 residents, is requiring its customers to reduce outdoor watering to four days a week, fix plumbing issues within 72-hours, and not water any non-recreational or decorative grass.

Mesa Water District is among many urban water suppliers in California that are under a state mandate to limit water use, effective June 10.

“We encourage everyone to use water wisely,” Celeste Carillo, a spokeswoman for Mesa Water District, told The Epoch Times. “But for the most part, Californians are efficient water users.”

The Mesa Water District in Costa Mesa, Calif., on June 1, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

In addition, the water district’s customers are also prohibited from watering or irrigating lawns, landscapes, and other vegetated areas with potable water between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

“Most of the water used inside is recycled, but outside water is difficult to capture and recycle,” she said.

According to the district’s website, Mesa Water has an “abundant supply of water” from investing in water sources and infrastructure. It takes part in refilling the Orange County Groundwater Basin and the Groundwater Replenishment System along with the Orange County Water District.

The Mesa Water District in Costa Mesa, Calif., on June 1, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Steve Sheldon, president of the OC Water District, praised the work of Mesa Water District, and condemned the state for forcing restrictions on urban water districts that invested taxpayer dollars for providing a local reliable water supply to its customers.

“[Mesa] has a different water supply situation than others and shouldn’t have to be subject to the same rules,” Sheldon told The Epoch Times.

Sheldon criticized the state for a “confluence of mismanagement” of its water resources, noting the 2014 passage of Proposition 1, a $7.5 billion bond that would fund “ecosystems and watershed protection and restoration, water supply infrastructure projects, including surface and groundwater storage, and drinking water protection.”

“We’re not going to see anything substantiative built for another decade,” he said.

The Mesa Water District in Costa Mesa, Calif., on June 1, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

In a previous interview, he told The Epoch Times that mandating water conservation also reduces water sales to water agencies, increasing water rates to recover the same amount of revenue needed to operate a water agency.

According to state data, California’s water supply dropped below 50 percent, with the first three months of this year facing the driest first quarter—in terms of rain and snowfall—in the state’s history.

Like Mesa Water District, water suppliers are announcing more cutbacks due to the State Water Board’s directive, which will affect more than 400 public water systems and approximately 4,200 water rights in cities, agricultural workers, and growers.

California’s emergency regulation went into effect June 10 at Gov. Gavin Newsom’s directive. The mandate will remain in effect for one year from the effective date, unless the Board modifies it, readopts it, or ends it before then.