The Redwood City, Calif., property used 320,842 gallons a day in September, which is 66,322 gallons more than the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission allotted the club under drought-inspired cutbacks. The list created by the commission includes about 800 customers with special irrigation accounts for landscaping.
Menlo Country Club in Redwood City, Calif., has topped a list of irrigation water users released Thursday by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, using 320,842 gallons a day in September, which is 66,322 gallons more than the utilities commission allotted the club under drought-inspired cutbacks, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
By law, the list includes only those who were ordered, not simply advised, to shrink their water usage. For the San Francisco utility—which sells water throughout the region, not just in the city—that order pertains to about 800 customers with special irrigation accounts for landscaping, the Chronicle reported.
Those customers were told in 2014 to trim their water use by 10 percent compared with 2013, and this year to cut back 25 percent. The list released Thursday detailed those who went over the limits in June, August and September, the Chronicle reported.
Most going over the limits in San Francisco were businesses, nonprofits and public agencies—ranging from UCSF Medical Center to a Safeway in the Marina. There were luxury high-rise apartment towers and the Mercy Housing agency for poverty and affordable housing. Other offenders included Caltrans, the Institute on Aging, the state Department of Parks and even BART’s 24th Street Station. Few individual homeowners were on the roster, the Chronicle reported.
In September, there were 208 violators, who had to pay double for every gallon they used over their target. The Giants baseball team made the list by going over its 2,519-gallon daily allotment at a small park it maintains across McCovey Cove from AT&T Park by 1,770 gallons. The overage was blamed on leaks, the Chronicle reported.
“We’ve had trouble with people stealing irrigation equipment there,” said team spokeswoman Staci Slaughter. “We’ve fixed it.”
But the biggest user of water, by far, was the Menlo Country Club, whose September bill topped $100,000. General Manager Chris Robinson said the club maintained a policy of not talking to the media. One person associated with the course, who asked for anonymity, noted that many golf courses in the region remain green but aren’t being scrutinized, the Chronicle reported.
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