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1. Why didn't the City lift all water restrictions and only roll-back to a less stringent Stage II Moderate Conservation Alert in May 2023?

It is because, pursuant to Chino Hills Municipal Code Section 13.08.050, the City Council may declare the conservation stage based on any of the following circumstances:

• Issuance of a water emergency executive order by the Governor of California; or
• Adoption of certain regulations by the California State Water Resources Control Board; or
• Major interruptions in water supply from Metropolitan Water District, the Inland Empire Utilities Agency, or any other major water supplier to the City; or
• Occurrence of a major water emergency emanating from a natural or man-caused disaster; and
• Whenever the City's water supply is anticipated to be reduced by up to ten percent, and voluntary conservation does not achieve the desired reduction. 

The State Department of Water Resources (DWR) is not able to meet 25% of requested imported water supplies. Further, Metropolitan Water District (MWD) notes that storage reserves have been drawn down and significant challenges remain to the region’s other source of imported water – the Colorado River. MWD continues to call on residents and businesses across the region to use water as efficiently as possible to refill storage and prepare for potential steep cuts to supplies from the Colorado River.  Further, while many of the most stringent provisions within the Governor's water executive orders have been repealed, these orders are still in effect. 

2. Now that the drought is over in California will my water rates go down?

No, the cost of providing the service and maintaining the infrastructure to deliver your water is the basis for your rates. As a public water provider, the City of Chino Hills can only charge its customers for the costs associated with providing water service. The cost to operate a water system includes the fixed costs for items that must be in place whether water use is up or down, and whether we are in a drought or not.  In other words, customers are charged for the maintenance of the system in place that provides them with the ability to have water delivered to their property on demand, whether or not they actually use any water in any given month. Fixed costs include items such as maintenance of pipes in the ground, repairs and replacement, personnel costs, insurance, and maintenance of water storage reservoirs and water treatment facilities to ensure that the water is of high quality and meets State and Federal standards.

3. What is a Smart Irrigation Controller?

Smart Irrigation Controllers or Weather Based Irrigation Controllers (WBIC) provide the appropriate watering schedule, adjust for weather changes and irrigate based on the needs of the landscape. These irrigation controllers use historical weather information or information collected from local weather stations to adjust watering schedules.

4. What is an Aquifer?

An aquifer is an underground layer of rock and sand that contains water. Water moves through the layers of rock and sand much like a river moves on the surface.

5. What is the Hydrologic or Water Cycle?

Water is always moving. Surface water, warmed by the sun, evaporates into the atmosphere. Water vapor is carried by the wind all over the globe. Eventually the water vapor cools and condenses into clouds, fog, dew or various forms of precipitation. Once on the ground the water can evaporate directly or travel as runoff into the ocean, rivers, lakes or a ground water system, eventually to evaporate again. This dynamic pathway of water is called the Water Cycle.

6. What is an acre-foot of water?

An acre-foot (A/F) is enough water to cover an acre of land one-foot deep. That’s 325,851 gallons or 43,560 cubic feet of water.

7. Cooling Tower pH Conductivity Controller?

A state-of-the-art Controller that allows you to add chemicals to the cooling tower that controls the pH in the system, helping to prevent the creation of scaling in the tower. See Cooling Tower for More...

8. What is a High Efficiency Clothes Washer (HECW)?

A High Efficiency Clothes Washer (HECW) meets certain water and energy efficient standards. They use a design where the tub axis is more nearly horizontal than vertical. Clothes are tumbled through water that only fills a fraction of the tub. Also known as horizontal axis, tumble action or front-loading clothes washers, they have a water factor of 9.5 gallons of water per cycle or less. HECW minimize drying time by removing more water from the clothes in the spin cycle than in traditional machines.

9. What is a Pre-Rinse Kitchen Sprayer?

A Pre-Rinse Kitchen Sprayer is a pull down sprayer used in commercial kitchens to rinse dishes.

10. What is a Connectionless Food Steamer?

Restaurants often use a food steamer / steamers to maintain or warm food. New water-efficient, connectionless (pressureless) food steamers, have no water line or sewer discharge. Intended for small- to medium-size restaurants.

11. What is a rotating nozzle?

The multi-trajectory, rotating streams of the rotating nozzle applies water more slowly and uniformly than conventional spray and rotor type irrigation heads by using arc and radius adjustment. Rotating nozzle technology reduces misting and run-off.

12. What is a Waterbroom?

A Waterbroom replaces a hose nozzle combining air and water pressure to clean and remove dirt, food spills, and lawn cuttings from concrete, asphalt or any other surface.

13. What is Compost?

Compost is one of nature’s best mulches and soil amendments, and you can use it instead of commercial fertilizer. Using compost improves soil structure, texture and aeration and increases the soil’s water-holding capacity. Compost loosens clay soil and helps sandy soil retain water. Adding compost improves soil fertility and stimulates healthy root development in plants.

14. What is Evapotranspiration (ET)?

Evapotranspiration or (ET) is the rate at which a plant loses water through evaporation and transpiration.

15. What is the Water Calculator?

The water calculator is designed to give you a schedule for the maximum amount of water which your plants may need each week of the year.

16. What is the Water Factor?

The Water Factor is the number of gallons per cycle per cubic foot that the clothes washer uses. The lower the water factor, the more efficient the washer.

17. What is the Watering Index?

The Watering Index is a guide to help people adjust watering schedules for landscape irrigation controllers, based on Evapotranspiration.

18. What is Transpiration?

The passing of water through living plant membranes into the atmosphere.