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# Wasteful use of resources
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/wasteful-use-of-resources/
- Published: 2007-05-12T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T00:44:58.000Z
- Author: Kevin Herrera
- Tags: Business, Santa Monica, #archive-import

SM COURTHOUSE In violation with the city of Santa Monica for the better part of four years, county officials are hoping their wasteful sprinkler use is all water under the bridge after this weekend.

Officials with the Los Angeles County Superior Court said Friday that they have hired a landscaping company to repair sprinklers here after repeatedly violating the city’s water conservation requirements.

Since 2003, the courthouse has committed numerous violations and has been fined twice, most recently on May 3\. Violations have included excessive watering, watering during the day and for producing runoff.

City Hall maintains strict laws against excessive water use, even a section that prohibits restaurants, bars, cafes and cafeterias — both public and private — from serving drinking water to anyone who doesn’t ask for it.

“We are working on the sprinklers right now and we should be finished this weekend,” said Reyna Guzman, who oversees custodial services and landscaping at the courthouse. “There are a few things that have to be repaired and we have finally got the funding to do it.”

Guzman attributed the latest water infraction to a faulty timer,which caused the sprinkler system to turn on during the daytime, when it is prohibited by City Hall. Under the water conservation law, no lawn or landscaping shall be watered between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., unless a drip irrigation system is in place or if reclaimed water is being used.

Neal Shapiro, the urban runoff management coordinator for City Hall, said the courthouse has been a frequent violator of the law. Conserving water is important, especially in Santa Monica, which imports more than 90 percent of its drinking water from the Metropolitan Water District because its wells are contaminated with a fuel additive known as MTBE.

City Hall is also concerned about urban runoff that can flow into the Santa Monica Bay,bringing with it pollutants that degrade water quality, forcing beach closures, Shapiro said.

“The city promotes sustainable irrigation practices so that we use our limited potable water resources wisely and with future generations in mind,” Shapiro said. “Exterior water use in Santa Monica uses nearly 50 percent of our water supply for residential properties, mostly single-family. It can also be a high percentage at non-residential properties with large landscapes or parking lots or open spaces.

“As the city has a policy to reduce water use by 20 percent by 2010 from 2000 use, it is in our best interest to promote irrigation strategies that use water at the maximum efficiency, “ Shapiro added. “Especially this year, when we have had record low rainfall, on the par of Death Valley.”

Since 2003, the courthouse has been cited for 11 violations, which have included watering more than two times per week and allowing overspray from sprinklers on hard-scapes, producing runoff.

A fine of $250 was issued on June 7, 2004 and paid. A second fine was issued earlier this month.

“The problem with sprinkler irrigation systems is that they deliver water inefficiently — too much in too little time; they overspray most of the time; timer systems to control sprinklers fail frequently; the systems promote inherent waste; people water the wrong times of the day or right before a rain event... when no irrigation is required,” Shapiro said.

City Hall’s Environmental Programs Division has several tips available online for irrigation control and landscaping. It also has a link to several water saving tips, including installing dual flush toilets and new showerheads.

In March, City Hall gave away free “smart irrigation” controllers that can tell when its sunny or rainy and water gardens accordingly, and a project is underway at Wilshire Boulevard and Ocean Avenue to collect more urban runoff and funnel into a water-treatment station before releasing it into the bay.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 12, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/051207.pdf?ref=smdp.com)