The city of Livermore has enacted city-wide mandatory water restrictions this week upon declaring a Stage 2 or moderate water shortage emergency.

The goal of these restrictions is to reduce Livermore’s water use by at least 15% compared to last year’s levels, city officials said in a statement.

The restrictions pertain to outdoor irrigation and apply to all properties within city limits, regardless of whether they are serviced by Livermore Municipal Water or Cal Water.

The new outdoor irrigation restrictions require that all landscaping within the city of Livermore only be watered a maximum of three times per week. Properties with odd numbered street addresses may only water on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays while properties with even numbered street addresses may only be watered on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. No watering is allowed on Sundays.

No sprinkler irrigation is allowed between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. under the new restrictions, however, watering is allowed at any time during a property’s approved watering days if a hose with an automatic shut-off nozzle, a hand-held container like a watering can, or a drip irrigation system is used.

Livermore receives most of its water supply from Zone 7 Water Agency. Due to the drought’s impacts on the state water project, Zone 7's Board of Directors declared a Stage 2 Water Shortage Emergency on Sept. 1, which activated a mandatory 15% water conservation requirement for all Zone 7 retailers, including Livermore Municipal Water and Cal Water.

In response, the city followed suit and put the mandatory watering restrictions in place to help meet its mandatory 15% water conservation requirement.

"With the state water project severely reducing surface water transfers to the Tri-Valley, we all have a role to play in protecting our finite groundwater supply," said Anthony Smith, the city's acting water resources division manager. "Reducing our outdoor water usage will go a long way towards helping us all weather this drought together," he added.

The city last activated mandatory water use restrictions in April 2014 and they remained in place until June 2016, which allowed Livermore to surpass its water reduction goal during the 2014-2017 drought, according to city officials.

Officials said the newly implemented restrictions will remain in place until water supplies recover or until worsening drought conditions force the city to activate additional water use restrictions.

Smith said he is confident that residents will do their part to help mitigate drought impacts. "During the last drought, Livermore water customers performed admirably, exceeding the required reductions in many months. We are optimistic that our customers will step up again," he said.

Zone 7 announced incentives that they're offering to help make it easier for customers to convert their lawns to more water efficient alternatives.

Zone 7 and its water retailers are now offering increased rebate amounts for water efficient lawn conversion to single-family properties up to 50% of the costs with a maximum rebate of $2,000. The maximum rebate for a non-residential property or multi-family property is up to 50% of the costs with a $6,000 maximum rebate.

In an effort to further help customers get started in the process of converting their lawn, the city of Livermore, California Water Service and Zone 7 are co-sponsoring a free Water-Wise Plant Selection webinar on Oct. 6th at 3:30pm.

During the webinar, Alden Lane Nursery’s Jacquie Williams-Courtright will guide participants in an exploration of California native and drought-tolerant plants, which are well suited to the Tri-Valley, Zone 7 officials said in a statement.

Officials said that they encourage residents to register for the event even if they can't attend live because a recording and other resources will be shared with everyone who registers.

More information about the city of Livermore's watering restrictions can be found here. Additional information about the Zone 7 rebate program and webinar is available here.