EBMUD sending warning letters to water wasters in Danville

DANVILLE, Calif. (KGO) -- The East Bay Municipal Utility District is sending warning letters to water wasters who use over 900 gallons a day.

After all the warnings and penalties, EBMUD may release the names and addresses of its highest users. Some say its crossing the line, but it may happen this fall.

With a new drought rate structure set to go into effect July 1, EBMUD has sent warning letters to more than 5,000 residential customers who are clearly using too much water. The letters read: "Your water consumption indicates that if you do not cut back your water use, you will be above the threshold."

That threshold is 984 gallons per day, which is four times the average per household in the district. Some of those customers are using as much as 3,000 gallons per day. "Usually that level of water indicates one that you have a leak or that you're just really watering too much, over watering," EBMUD spokesperson Abby Figueroa said.

Nearly 25 percent of the letters have gone to customers in Danville. "Gee, I thought that was an L.A. thing. I wouldn't be too surprised I guess now that you mentioned that," Benny Chavez said.

Penalties will kick in for those customers who don't reduce their water usage, but they are relatively small.

Perhaps a greater deterrent will be after September 1, when EBMUD could release the names and addresses of those on the excessive use list. "Unfortunately, if we're asked, we're going to have to release the names and addresses and consumption data of those customers," Figueroa said.

Danville has the highest number of households receiving the warning letters, followed by Alamo, Lafayette and Orinda.

To learn how much your city is required to cut back, click here. For water rebate information from Bay Area water suppliers, click here. And click here for tips on how to conserve water. To learn more about how to report water wasters #WhereYouLive, click here.

For full coverage on the drought, click here.