Drought is less bleak so restrictions ease up

The weather is wetter than last year amid California’s ongoing drought, but the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s request to conserve water citywide hasn’t dried up yet.

The SFPUC voted unanimously June 28 to maintain water conservation while easing up on last year’s mandatory water usage restrictions, which required local commercial water customers to reduce their outdoor potable-water irrigation by up to 25 or 30 percent. Nonresidential customers faced excess-usage fees that will now be lowered, and are required to reduce usage by only 10 percent.