LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council on Tuesday chose to continue with voluntary water conservation measures in the city under a stage one emergency first approved last year rather rather than moving to a higher level of emergency.

The council voted unanimously to forgo taking much more strict measures and instead directed staff to conduct community outreach in order to educate residents and business owners about state water conservation mandates and the city's stage one requirements that went into effect by resolution last September.

Under the September resolution, the council declared a stage one emergency

In accordance with state mandates, the council also ordered that the outdoor irrigation of ornamental landscapes and turf with potable water by the city's water customers be limited to two days per week, prohibited using potable water for landscapes in such a way that it caused runoff onto pavement or nonirrigated land, prohibited use of hoses without shutoff nozzles for washing cars, banned using potable water for washing driveways and sidewalks, or for fountains or decorative water features that don't have a recirculating system.

City Manager Margaret Silveira said in her written report that enforcement of the rules by the city is not mandatory, “and the City may not wish to expend resources to fully implement this regulation.”

The council's decision to continue those measures on Tuesday came on the same day that the State Water Resources Control Board adopted new regulations to achieve the water conservation ordered by Gov. Jerry Brown.

The State Water Resources Control Board approved an emergency regulation requiring an immediate 25-percent reduction in overall potable urban water use statewide.

At the same time, the board instituted a requirement for small water suppliers – those with 3,000 or fewer connections, which Silveira said includes the city of Lakeport –  to reduce water use by 25 percent, or restrict outdoor irrigation to no more than two days per week.

Those smaller water suppliers, which the state said serve less than 10 percent of Californians, also must now submit a report on Dec. 15 to demonstrate compliance with the new rules. They still won't be required to do the monthly reporting that applies to large suppliers.

In order to meet the state's requirements, Silveira said the city must implement a simple conservation plan. While noting that small suppliers don't currently need to make regular reports on their water usage, “That may change,” Silveira said.

Silveira said the city's Water Task Force – comprised of city staff, Mayor Martin Scheel and Dennis Rollins, chair of the Westside Community Park Committee – recommended continuing stage one of the city's water rationing procedures ordinance, including the state mandates imposed at the Sept. 2 council meeting.

According to the 1989 rationing ordinance, a stage two emergency would have made certain “non-essential” water uses illegal, including use of water from public hydrants for any purpose other than fire protection and prevention; use of water through any meter when the consumer had been given two days notice to repair one or more leaks and has failed to complete such repairs; use of water to irrigate grass, lawns, ground cover, shrubbery, vegetable gardens, trees or other outdoor vegetation by other than hand watering and/or drip irrigation; use of water for the construction of any structure, including such use in dust control; use of water to wash any sidewalk, walkways, driveway, street, parking lot or other hardsurfaced area by hosing or by otherwise direct use of water from faucets or other outlets; use of water to wash any motor vehicle, trailer, airplane or boat by hosing or otherwise using water directly from a faucet or other outlet; and use of water to fill or refill any swimming pool.

The Lakeport Parks and Recreation Committee also has discussed water conservation measures, said Silveira, and it has asked the city council to consider its recommendations.

A minute order from the commission's April 2 meeting, included in the council's Tuesday agenda packet, proposed several conservation measures to the council.

Those suggestions included using drought resistant plants to replace any plants that die out in city parks; expanding the mulch area around trees; using rocks in planting areas to reduce the number of plants required; using native plants in new planting areas; moving forward on the progress to bring in nonpotable water to Westside Community Park for irrigation.

Councilman Marc Spillman asked Silveira if she foresees the city having to go to stage two measure.

Silveira responded by pointing out that Lakeport hasn't seen drastic changes in its water conditions over the last year, with its well levels staying the same and Clear Lake being up 2 feet over this time in 2014.

Scheel also pointed out that Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, which possesses the main water rights to Clear Lake, won't get its full allotment of 150,000 acre feet of water this year due to the lower lake level as of May 1.

Lake County Water Resources reported that based on the May 1 lake level, 30,714 acre feet is available for use by Yolo Flood according to the Solano Decree. That amounts to approximately 9 inches of depth on Clear Lake.

Suzanne Lyons, a member of the Parks and Recreation Committee, went over the commission's water conservation suggestions and also added another, permeable pathways, as well as a suggestion that more drought-resistant plants be introduced into the decorative planters on the lamp posts in the downtown area, which are handled by the Lakeport Main Street Association.

Lyons additionally recommended that the city place a sign at Library Park telling people that the city uses nonpotable water from Clear Lake to water the park's lawn.

Scheel agreed with the proposal to educate the public in order to avoid having to resort to the stage two emergency measures, which he called “brutal.”

Silveira pointed out in response to the commission's suggestion to move forward on using nonpotable water for Westside Community Park that the city has received an $80,000 grant for that very project.

Spillman moved to continue the current restrictions and direct staff to begin community outreach, with Councilman Kenny Parlet seconding and the council voting 5-0.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.