Oak Park, Calif. May 16, 2022–Triunfo Water & Sanitation District is providing details of how its potable water customers can comply with the one-day-per-week watering restriction ordered by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, effective June 1. Triunfo provides drinking water to all residences and businesses in Oak Park.

“With multiple water suppliers in the Conejo Valley, we felt it was important to reach out to our Oak Park customers with specific guidelines for them to follow,” says Mark Norris, Triunfo’s general manager.

Guidelines for the one-day-per-week watering restriction include:

• Landscape sprinkler irrigation is limited to 15 minutes per station, one day a week.
• Watering is prohibited between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., except by use of a hand-held bucket or similar container or a hose equipped with a positive self-closing water shut-off device.
• Customers may choose the day of the week on which they wish to water.
• Exceptions to the one-day-per-week limit include hand-watering of trees and other perennials, drip irrigation systems, and areas irrigated with recycled water.

Triunfo is currently operating under Stage 1 of its Water Shortage Contingency Plan. In addition to the one-day-per-week watering restriction, all leaks, breaks, or other malfunctions in a customer’s plumbing, distribution, or irrigation system must be repaired within 72 hours of observation and notification by Triunfo. Recycled water must be used for construction site dust control or consolidation of backfill, if available. These Stage 1 restrictions are in addition to the permanent water use guidelines that Triunfo has had in place for several years.

Customers who do not comply with the district’s water use restrictions are subject to penalties including a written warning, fines from $100 to $250 (per violation), or installation of a flow restricting device in the case of multiple violations. Triunfo’s water metering system is fully automated, and district staff have access to real-time usage data for all customer accounts.

“It’s clear that we cannot rely on Mother Nature to supply us with all the water we need,” says Leon Shapiro, chair of the Triunfo board of directors. “For that reason, Triunfo and the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District are jointly developing the Pure Water Project that will ultimately produce up to 1.6 billion gallons of locally sourced drinking water each year. The project is expected to be completed in 2030. Until then, we must all work together to conserve as much water as we can.”

For information on the Pure Water Project, including tour availability of the demonstration facility, visit www.ourpureh2o.com.