Pasadena Approves Watering Restrictions Amid Drought

PASADENA (CBSLA) – The city of Pasadena is implementing new watering restrictions amid a historic drought crisis which has gripped California.

The Pasadena City Council Monday unanimously approved a plan that only allows residents to water their yards twice per week.

Under the Level 2 Water Supply Shortage Plan, even numbered street addresses can only water on Mondays and Thursdays, while odd-number addresses can water on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Last month, California Gov. Gavin Newsom called for Californians to voluntarily reduce water use by 15%

"We are not looking for lawns to go brown," Pasadena City Manager Steve Mermell said in a statement. "Often, overwatering occurs when the homeowner does not realize they had a broken sprinkler head or the duration of their watering is too long. We are hoping to educate customers that outdoor water use makes up more the majority of an average household's water use. A good amount of water can be saved by replacing leaks, using efficient sprinkler heads, or installing drip irrigation."

About 60% of Pasadena's water supply comes from the Metropolitan Water District (MWD), the largest wholesale supplier of water in Southern California. The MWD Board of Directors is meeting Tuesday to determine whether to declare a Water Supply Alert, which would call on its 19 million customers across six Southern California counties to voluntarily conserve.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the entire Southland is either in the severe, extreme or exceptional drought categories.