Weekend rain will bring some water bills down

Some residents will have a lower November water bill if they make a change in their outside watering after Sunday’s rain.

Santa Barbara water officials are reminding residents to remember the slogan, ” rain on, sprinklers off.”

They say your sprinkler timer should be off until your soil dries out. There are water use regulations about watering during and 48 hours after measurable rainfall.

A good way to check if your grass or plants are thirsty is to just use your fingers to test the soil moisture.

Santa Barbara water officials will also help you with a free water checkup visit and even provide a free rain shut off sensor, that will interrupt the watering schedule when rain is detected.

Some residents told NewsChannel 3 they can go at least a week without watering, and that will bring their bills down.

Another resident said she is hoping the city does not have a heavy enforcement but instead, residents end up complying to the drought related rules. “The last thing we need to do is encourage neighbors to call the police on neighbors. I think we ought to be in the business of talking to neighbors ourselves and building community, but certainly not reporting neighbors,” said B.J. Weiss.

The City of Santa Barbara is urging residents to continue their on going conservation which is in excess of 35 percent of the use from three years ago. That cutback may be going up to 40 percent soon depending on water supply figures and the rainfall projections.

In December, a vote could be finalized to ban outside watering beginning in January, except for certain situations. That would include areas with reclaimed water, sports fields, and residents who have installed low water use grass.

The desalination plant is under construction with a start up date expected to be sometime between late February and mid March.

For more information go to : www.SantaBarbaraCA.gov/RainSensor or call (805) 564-5460.

or http://www.waterwisesb.org/