Marin Readies For Water Restriction Enforcement

MARIN COUNTY, CA — Tough new water restrictions enacted earlier this month for most Marin County residents go into effect Saturday.

The Marin Municipal Water District’s Board of Directors unanimously adopted mandatory restrictions at its April meeting amid historic drought conditions.

The new restrictions went into effect at the time they were enacted but won’t be enforced until Saturday, as the district wanted to give customers time to prepare.

Washing vehicles at home, power washing homes and businesses, and flooding gutters are among the restricted water use measures.

Watering grass on public medians and using potable water for dust control, sewer flushing, and street cleaning are also prohibited.

The restrictions follow two consecutive dry winters and come less than four years after that state endured an extended drought from 2013-2017.

With only 20 inches of rainfall last year, 2020 marked the second-driest year in 90 years.

The district declared a drought in mid-February and launched a public awareness campaign asking customers to conserve water by voluntarily cutting back on irrigation, not washing vehicles, and conserving water indoors.

Persistent warm, dry weather lowered Marin Water's reservoir storage capacity to 52 percent—the lowest level in nearly 40 years.

Much of the West Coast including nearly all of California is experiencing drought conditions.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, 87.95 percent of the state is in a severe drought and 52.86 percent of the state including most of the Bay Area is experience extreme drought conditions.

The MMWD serves around 80 percent of Marin customers including most in the southern and central sections of the county.

Anyone witnessing water waste is asked to report it to the MMWD using this online form, by email

Conservation@MarinWater.org or by calling (415) 945-1523.