San Diego’s fountains are flowing again, after the state eased drought restrictions that were in place for more than a year. As of Aug. 1 in the city of San Diego, water restrictions dropped from Level 2 to Level 1, signaling a shift from mandatory to voluntary water restrictions in many cases. The only restriction on fountains is that they use recirculating water, a near-universal design that dates back to electrical pumps more than a century ago. Other water agencies have taken similar actions. Level 2 restrictions lasted from Nov. 1, 2014, to June 30, 2016, said Luis Generoso, the city’s water conservation program manager.