I feel sorry for the people with koi ponds, I change 1000 gals every week. If they pay close attention to your water usage, they will nail you to a cross.
Harry
In Florida they do punish abusers. (We have water meters that are read monthly - you don't?). The fines are too small however to discourage the heavy abusers. Of course we also have the agriculture industry pretty much wasting water by sprinkling overhead in the heat of the day, unlike what we are allowed to do.
My city regulations:
Lawn & Landscape Watering
• The one day a week schedule below must be followed.
• Properties less than two acres in size may only water before 8am or after 6pm.
• Properties two acres or larger may only water before 10 am or after 4 pm.
• Variances are available, through the Southwest Florida Water Management District, if a property proposes an alternate irrigation plan (such as splitting a large property into two pieces and assigning a different day to each piece).
• Hand watering or microirrigation of plants (Not grass, turf or sod)is allowed any day of the week but not during restricted times.
• Certain exemptions are available such as allowances for new plant material.
They made an exception for micro-irrigation (mister type heads) and hand watering - both workable and effective for many people's bonsai. My county even gave away free starter kits of the mister systems a few years ago if you attended a free workshop. Perhaps people under restrictions could check and see if there are exemptions for such systems and if not lobby the agency to see if one could be put in place. Our regulations in Florida would be a good case in point.
Harry - that's nothing. There's a person in Tampa that uses 16,000 gallons a day or 6,000,000 per year and has for the past two years. That's the type of abuse that needs to stop. Nobody knows what this goof ball is doing and the fines are so small it's does not phase him.