48-Hour Shutoff Warning Part Of New San Juan Water District Rules

GRANITE BAY (CBS13) — People living in the San Juan Water District could see their water shut off if they don't follow strict new watering rules, in addition to a 25 percent cut in water use.

On a night when the rain is coming down, the district tightened its rules on wasting water, only giving violators 48 hours before they shut their water off.

It doesn't make much sense to run your sprinklers when it's raining, but now the district can shut off your water if they catch you doing it.

Shauna Lorance says a Stage 3 reduction will mean a shorter time frame to get leaks fixed, going from nine days to just two.

"We are tightening the timeframe, and we are going to be much more diligent on responding and our monitoring," she said. "If they don't have it corrected within a couple of days, then we would move forward with things such as shutoffs."

They say if anyone is letting water run off their property or oversaturating their lawns, they could receive a warning and face a shutoff 48 hours later.

"That's going to cause a real problem, because people can't be without water," one man said.

Some who live in Granite Bay say they've already been cutting back a lot to help in the drought, and shutting off someone's water isn't fair, much less safe.

Others hope the stricter penalty will force any habitual water wasters in the neighborhoods to finally tighten up.

If the district decides to shut off your water, it could cost at least $100 to turn it back on and more than twice as much the second time.