$10,000 fine proposed for California’s worst water wasters

The recommendation was part of a legislative proposal Brown said he would make to expand enforcement of water restrictions.

It came as his administration faces skepticism from some local water departments about his sweeping plan to save water.

Later Tuesday, the State Water Resources Control Board released updated mandatory water reduction targets cutting consumption as much as 36 percent compared with 2013. The proposal was largely unchanged from a previous version and did not include the modifications some communities had sought.

"We've done a lot. We have a long way to go," Brown said after meeting with the mayors of 14 cities. "So maybe you want to think of this as just another installment on a long enterprise to live with a changing climate and with a drought of uncertain duration."

The governor also said he is directing state agencies to speed environmental review of projects that increase local water supplies. Mayors have complained that such projects have been delayed by red tape.

Brown's action will not extend to the construction of dams and reservoirs. 

Last summer, state regulators authorized $500 fines for outdoor water waste, but few cities have levied such high amounts. Many agencies have said they would rather educate customers than penalize them.

Brown said steep fines should still be a last resort and "only the worst offenders" that continually violated water rules would be subject to $10,000 penalties. It was unclear what kind of violations those would be.

His proposal would also provide enforcement power to water departments that currently can't fine customers.

In a prepared statement, Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, said she was reviewing the proposal but "it's clear that local governments need additional enforcement tools" to conserve water.

California is in its fourth year of drought, and state officials fear it may last as long as a decade.

Brown previously ordered a mandatory 25 percent reduction in statewide water use in cities and towns after voluntary conservation wasn't enough to meet his goals.

The board is scheduled to vote next week on regulations to achieve Brown's water saving goals, which call for cities to cut water use from between 4 percent to 36 percent compared to 2013, the year before Brown declared a drought emergency.

Some cities say the targets are unrealistic and possibly illegal. And some Northern California communities say their longstanding legal rights to water protect them from having to make cuts to help other parched towns.

The current conservation plan is based on per-capita residential water use last summer. The board rejected alternatives that reflect greater demand for water in more arid parts of the state and give credit for conservation efforts before the drought began.

The Associated Press