One more Orange County city has been added to the list of those passing new water conservation measures in the wake of restrictions on supply by the Metropolitan Water District in Los Angeles.

San Juan Capistrano’s  City Council voted late Tuesday to adopt a resolution calling mostly for voluntary reductions in water use. (Read OC Register story.)

The resolution is less stringent than what was recommended by the city’s water conservation coordinator, Francie Kennedy. The stricter version would have outlawed washing cars in the driveway, and required water fountains to be drained.

The resolution adopted Tuesday night will bring rate increases for customers who use the most water.

The Municipal Water District of Orange County is coordinating efforts by 27 cities and water agencies to adopt new measures curbing excess water use, some of them including possible penalties for violators.

So far, new measures have been adopted by the El Toro, Irvine Ranch, Moulton Niguel, Serrano, South Coast, Trabuco Canyon and Yorba Linda water districts, along with San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano.

Last month, the board of the Metropolitan Water District in Los Angeles — the region’s water wholesaler — voted to cut supplies to downstream agencies, citing dry conditions and reduced pumping from the California Bay Delta to protect a threatened fish.

The supply cut, which takes effect July 1, is widely thought likely to prompt tougher restrictions on water use, and perhaps water rationing among cities and water agencies.

Orange County rainfall is running 3-5 inches below normal, and Santa Ana hasn’t received an inch or more of rain from a single storm since mid-December. The U.S. Drought Monitor currently lists Orange County as being in a “moderate drought.”

Register staff writer Gary Robbins contributed to this report.

(Register file photo by Bruce Chambers.)

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