Clovis Forced To Cut Back On Water Use

People in Clovis will have to use less water, last night the city council voted on new water restrictions. Residents will have to cut their water use by 36% or be fined.

The city of Clovis was identified as one of the cities with the highest water users so they’re having to reduce their water usage drastically in order to meet the state’s demands.

Stan King has watched his front yard begin to turn brown as he tries to conserve water and he knows he may soon lose his entire garden having to cut back another 36 percent inside and outside the home, limiting watering to twice a week.

"They will be based on what the 2013 values were for that particular property and if there is a significant issue they can appeal the penalties," Lisa Koehn said.

King said, "We’re gonna have to live with it, there’s no two ways about it. I don’t like it, I don’t like losing my yard but we have to do what everyone else has to do."

Others aren’t too happy about the changes because they’ve spent a lot of money in their landscaping and may rather pay the fines. "That’s gonna take almost all the watering away from me," Chuck Volpa said.

With over 30,000 customers, the city cannot individualize the changes for each customer. "The state isn’t doing it like that, they’re just giving us 36 percent reduction  and so we’re trying to make it as fair as possible while realizing the constraints we have," Koehn said.

The city will be enforcing penalties for those who don’t comply. The first fine will be 25 dollars and will increase subsequently. If the city doesn’t meet the reduction goal, it could be fined up to $ 10,000 a day.