Stanislaus County properties limited to watering twice a week

With a 2-acre lawn and a 12-foot-high water wheel, the landscaping around David Busby’s custom home outside Riverbank is a throwback to the days of “water wealth” in Stanislaus County.

Tuesday evening, the Board of Supervisors amended a water conservation ordinance, which will make it difficult to maintain such landscaping this summer. The urgency action limits outdoor watering to two days a week in the county jurisdiction, with the rules taking effect immediately in unincorporated pockets of Modesto; towns such as Salida, Empire and Denair; and the outskirts of Riverbank, Oakdale and other cities, where affluent people build their dream homes.

Busby predicted the two-days-a-week water restriction will kill his lawn. He said he wished the county would have stayed at three days a week and stopped investors from planting almond orchards in the county that suck millions of gallons of groundwater.

The county joined Modesto and other cities in imposing watering restrictions. The county ordinance allows homes and businesses with odd-number street addresses to water on Wednesdays and Sundays. Those with even-number addresses can run sprinklers Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Outdoor watering is prohibited during the daytime hours from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The county will issue a couple of warnings for violations before imposing a $100 penalty. The penalties could increase to $400 for subsequent violations.

County Supervisor Vito Chiesa suggested the county try to harmonize its water regulations with those of the cities.

Supervisor Jim DeMartini proposed that the county hire a staff member to advise the public on creating drought-resistant landscaping for homes and businesses.

Local landscaping contractors said Tuesday that property owners should be able to keep their trees and shrubs alive with the limited watering.

James Hischier, owner of Hischier Landscaping, said owners can live with the two-days-a-week restriction by watering three times on those two days – at midnight, early morning and then the following evening. Some of his customers also are putting in drip systems to keep their plants alive.

A few customers have hired him to take out their lawns and replace them with drystream landscaping and desert-like plantings, Hischier said.

John Notaro of Four Seasons Landscape Services said the soil type around homes may determine whether homeowners can live with the restrictions. Those with sandy soils that retain little water are accustomed to watering four days a week, he said.

If California continues to have a water shortage, Notaro said, “we will have to make adjustments. People are going to convert to drought-resistant plants and smaller lawns or maybe go to artificial turf. It’s a big expense, but it will save a lot of water.”

Last month’s water conservation order from Gov. Jerry Brown may contain a loophole for property owners in county-governed areas. The state conservation order pertains to “potable” sources, or drinking water. Property owners with a nonpotable well can use it to water without restrictions, said Jami Aggers, county director of environmental resources.

Busby said he spent $60,000 on the lawn, an irrigation system and other improvements. The hard ground underneath his lawn is not suited for water shortage. The grass is irrigated from a private well on his property.

The real estate developer said the water wheel has received compliments from people and drew at least one complaint from a neighbor who thought he was irrigating with it. The wheel recycles the small amount of water in the pond surrounding it.

In a climate of government-imposed water conservation, Busby suspects he will be the subject of a few more complaints questioning his outdoor water use.

“I have a neighbor who complains to the county whenever I do anything,” Busby said. “I drove by his house on Sunday and saw he was watering.”

This story was originally published May 19, 2015 at 10:28 PM with the headline "Stanislaus County properties limited to watering twice a week."