Mountain View’s City Council has declared a stage 2 water shortage emergency – releasing a list of water use restrictions.
Under the emergency declaration, residents of even addresses can irrigate on Tuesday and Fridays, while those at odd addresses can irrigate Monday and Thursdays.
The City Council also detailed some do’s and don’ts for water usage.
The do’s include: repair water leaks within 5 days, recirculate water for car washes and laundry systems and use recycled water for construction when available.
The don’ts: wash vehicles at home (except by bucket), water between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. (except by bucket, hose or for system repair) and water more than 15 minutes per day (except drip irrigation).
Summer water rate hikes continue
The stage 2 emergency comes after the San Jose City Council voted unanimously to increase water rates this month in several of its neighborhoods.
Those 136,000 affected customers of the San Jose Municipal Water System are in the North San Jose, Alviso, Evergreem, Edenvale and Coyote Valley areas. Households in those neighborhoods could see an average of $7 to $11 increase on their monthly bill.
While overall water consumption is actually trending down, the utility will continue to raise prices due to an $8.2 million rise in operating costs this year.
Sacred Heart Community Service offers a Water Rate Assistance Program (WRAP) eligible extremely low-income households who may be struggling to pay their monthly water bill. Qualified applicants could receive up to $1,000 in assistance.
For tips on how to conserve more water, visit the City of San Jose website.