Grover Beach City Council declares stage three water shortage
GROVER BEACH, Calif. – The Grover Beach City Council declared a stage three water shortage at its meeting on Monday evening, requiring all residents to follow a mandatory 20% reduction in water consumption.
“As this historic statewide drought persists, water conservation is more important than ever,” said Grover Beach Mayor Jeff Lee. “We understand that these restrictions may be challenging for residents and businesses, but it is critical that we all do our part to limit water waste as much as possible and protect our finite water supply.”
The city declared a stage two water shortage on May 9, requiring that residents reduce their water consumption by 10% based on the amount of water the household used the previous year. The city also began offering rebate programs to incentivize residents to reduce water consumption.
However, the city has only reduced water consumption by 5.2%, according to city officials.
"If dry conditions continue without any additional conservation or supplemental water supplies, the available supply may be unable to meet demand in the 2024 water year," said city manager Matthew Bronson.
The city council also directed staff to "proactively explore" supplemental water supply options. The council also directed staff to penalize residents who don't comply with the new water restrictions.
Residents will receive a warning letter for the first violation, a $100 penalty for a second violation, and any subsequent violations are subject to higher financial sanctions.
The council decided not to penalize any residents who failed to comply with the water reduction requirements during the stage two shortage but decided to impose the penalties as water levels remained below the required reduction amounts, according to city officials.
In order to build water resiliency and increase the region's local water supply, Grover Beach partnered with the cities of Pismo Beach and Arroyo Grande to launch a recycled water project called Central Coast Blue. The goal of the project is to create an additional high-quality and sustainable water supply for the region, Bronson said.
The cities held a joint meeting on Sept. 14 and will continue to pursue grant and funding opportunities, as well as finalize the design of the new facility by the end of 2023. The project is expected to be operational by late 2025 with groundwater supply available by mid-2026, according to Bronson.
“As we continue to work diligently on ways to supplement our water supply, we urge all Grover Beach community members to do what they can to reduce their water consumption and take advantage of the rebate programs available,” Bronson said.
“The city is taking a proactive role to ensure sufficient water for our community and additional conservation efforts will help us meet this goal.”
For more information regarding water conservation and rebate programs, click here.
