The City of Ripon will look at changes to the water conservation efforts.

A big reason for that is Gov. Gavin Newsome’s Executive Order N-5-23 that terminates portions of the previous mandatory water conservation due to the recent California storms, which marked the wettest periods on record in the state.

In response to that, the Ripon City Council is scheduled to pass a resolution at Tuesday’s 6 p.m. meeting in the Council Chamber, 259 N. Wilma Ave., allowing to move from Stage 3 to Stage 2 of the City of Ripon’s Drought Contingency Plan.

According to the staff report from Public Works Director James Pease, the executive order will eliminate a number of provisions, including the 20 percent water shortage measure outlined in the City’s Water Shortage Contingency Plan.

Other significant changes would include:

·         The ending of the voluntary call for a 15 percent water reduction target from 2020 usage level.

·         Increasing the landscape irrigation schedule back to three days per week in the Spring / Summer while the one day per week for the Fall / Winter will remain in place.

·         Resuming water use for decorative water features and fountains.

·         Water leaks / breaks can be repaired within 48 hours rather than 24 hours.

It is anticipated that due to the recent snow survey conducted by the Department of Water Resources the additional emergency drought provisions will be eliminate by the State Water Resources Control Board, Pease noted.

He added that staff will continue to provide updates to elected leaders as updates are received.

In addition, staff is planning to notify residents and businesses regarding the new changes, posting updates via www.cityofripon.org, sending out a Nixle alert, and mailing out postcards to summarize the new rules.