A series of meetings in September focused on a new ordinance for water-waste fines and limiting when people can use their sprinklers—rules similar to what’s already in place in for most of Albuquerque.

All folks hooked up to the municipal water system run by the city-county Water Utility Authority are subject to conservation regulations.

The ordinance will cover unincorporated Bernalillo County, including people who get their water from private wells or New Mexico Utilities Inc.

Violations can result in a $300 fine, though county officials say they plan to work on educating people and giving warnings for first offenses.

The new ordinance:

• Prohibits allowing irrigation water to spill off your landscape and into the public right-of-way, such as a street;
• Bans people from running their sprinklers during the day in the summer heat, when much of the water evaporates;
• Allows the county to restrict outdoor watering to certain days during a drought;
• Outlines certain exceptions to the rules for people who have newly-sodded lawns or special circumstances;
• Says customers of the Water Utility Authority who waste water won’t be punished by both the authority and the county for the same violation;
• Mandates new development must not use high-water use turf or plants on more than 20 percent of the landscape area.