California Water Code Section 10632 requires that every urban water supplier that serves more than 3,000 acre-feet per year or has more than 3,000 connections prepare and adopt a standalone Water Shortage Contingency Plan (WSCP) as part of its Urban Water Management Plan. This WSCP is a proposed plan for a range of water shortage situations, including supply shortages of greater than 50%.

Six Stages of Water Shortage

The WSCP includes six shortage stages to identify and respond to water shortage emergencies. Table 1 below summarizes the mandatory prohibitions associated with each water shortage stage. It should be noted that the CCSD’s prohibition on water waste is in place at all times, regardless of whether a drought stage has been declared. Therefore, the phrasing “At all times” is used to indicate this is required regardless of a particular stage.

Each stage is associated with unique water use restrictions and other response actions. Please visit the pages below to learn more about each stage and what you can do to reduce your water consumption during shortages.