FILE PHOTO Nowadays, water flowing down the gutter or a broken sprinkler head is cause for alarm for conservation-minded citizens. Because of the statewide drought, residents have become more aware of their own water usage, partly in fear of the repercussions they may face if they use too much.

But they’ve also become acutely aware of the water usage of those around them, especially when it appears that water is being wasted and nothing is being done to stop it.

In July, Ventura County Waterworks District No. 8, which is headed by the Simi Valley City Council, declared a Level 1 water supply shortage. Under the declaration, homeowners who receive water from the city can irrigate their lawns on Monday, Wednesday and Friday only. And come Nov. 1, watering will be limited to Monday and Thursday.

Since the implementation of these new water rules, Public Works has been inundated with hundreds of phone calls and emails from residents. Most are simply inquiries about the new program. But some are from people reporting potential water issues, which are often in highly visible public right of way areas.

Wanda Moyer, an environmental compliance program analyst with the city who is managing the implementation of the water conservation program, said public works employees respond to these tips on a daily basis.

“There are times . . . we find . . . a broken irrigation line or sprinkler head that we may not have been aware of,” Moyer said. “There’s definitely an upside to this communication that we’re getting.”

With each tip, city staff must first find out who’s responsible for maintaining the area in question— whether it’s the city, a homeowners association, a business or other agency. Next, they check if there’s a smart controller on the property, which would make it exempt from the new watering rules.

If there is a violation, city staff follows up with the responsible party, informing them of the city’s requirements. A field inspector may also go out and, if there’s a broken pipe or sprinkler head, the responsible party is told to repair it.

This was the case for a neighborhood in Big Sky, where a broken irrigation line caused a large amount of water to drain down the gutters. The city contacted the homeowners association, which subsequently fixed the problem.

Similarly, the city got in touch with the Sycamore Shade HOA about a heavy flow of surface water draining from the complex onto Sycamore Drive. Since then, the water coming off the site has greatly decreased, Moyer said.

City staff generally responds to tips within a 24-hour period, during normal working hours, but depending on the situation it may take longer than a day to correct, she said.

Moyer added that the more specific the tip is, the faster the city can fix the problem.

However, Assistant Director of Public Works Joe Deakin said water flowing in a gutter doesn’t always mean someone is wasting water.

“Water running down gutter does not especially have anything to do with water conservation. It may, but it very well may not,” Deakin said. “There are areas in the city that have high groundwater artesian conditions; water pops up at curb line and other places and runs down the drain. And in some locations it runs for literally blocks.”

To combat the groundwater seepage, dewatering wells on the west end of Simi pump out the water and empty it into the Arroyo. This activity may look like a waste of water, but it’s not, Deakin said.

The city’s conservation measures were adopted in order to comply with the 15 percent reduction in regional water use mandated by the Metropolitan Water District and passed on by the city’s supplier, Calleguas Municipal Water District.

To help meet this reduction, the city has been working one-on-one with some of the district’s largest water users, including the park district, the school district, Wood Ranch Golf Course, Mount Sinai Memorial Park and the Reagan Library.

This type of communication is in line with the direction of the City Council to take a proactive and “proeducation” approach to enforcement of the water ordinance, Deakin said. Though the rules have been in effect for several months now, no one has received a fine, he said.

So far, the district has been fairly successful in its conservation efforts. In July, the first month of the new program, waterworks district customers reduced their water use by 13 percent from last year. In August, the district met the 15 percent reduction.

Taken together, the city is still shy of the 15 percent decrease overall, but it’s off to a good start, Deakin said.

In the coming months, the focus will become more on the cumulative effort than what was saved month-to-month, Deakin said, adding that the city needs the community’s continued assistance to reach conservation goals and avoid penalties at the end of June 2010. Residents are encouraged to continue to contact the city with questions, concerns or tips.

They can do so by calling the Water Conservation Hotline at (805) 583-6420 or e-mailing waterconservation@simivalley.org

Learn to conserve The city of Simi Valley, in conjunction with Golden State Water Company, is offering a free four-part Water Conservation Landscape Training program that will focus on landscaping material and techniques to save water and costs by reducing irrigation. These training workshops will be held every other Saturday, beginning Sept. 26, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, visit www.simivalley.org

In addition, a new Water Wise Gardening in Ventura County website has been developed to help the community save water. The website features water-wise plants appropriate for any city in the county as well as related landscape design information. Visit www.ventura.watersavingplants.com.

For more conservation tips, visit www.bewaterwise.com.