The city plans to bolster its existing water conservation rules by updating the way it fines residents who waste water at their homes and businesses.

Sacramento’s Department of Utilities is proposing to revise the city’s water conservation ordinance in part to respond to the third year of California’s drought, said Jessica Hess, a media and communications specialist at the utilities department.

The city is making major revisions to its process for managing water waste violations. In its current form, the ordinance is difficult to enforce, Hess said. City staffers currently visit sites numerous times as they seek to enforce the rules.

“It will be more efficient for our staff to address water waste concerns” with the new enforcement rules because staffers won’t have to make numerous visits to the property, Hess said.

The proposed revisions would allow city staffers to simultaneously fine and educate violators, she explained.

The City Council will address the water conservation proposal at its May 5 meeting. Sacramento residents can weigh in on the city’s plans by contacting Hess at jhess@cityofsacramento.org.

For a first-time violation, property owners and residents would receive a written warning. Under the proposal, a resident who commits a second violation of the ordinance would be levied a $25 fine. However, the violator has the option to take a water conservation class instead of paying the fine. The idea is similar to traffic school, Hess said.

A third violation comes with a $100 fine. The fine for a fourth violation jumps to $500.

The new fines and penalty system would replace the current enforcement process, which is more complex.

The revised ordinance would be applied citywide, affecting all Sacramento residents and businesses. The city plans to prepare separate rules for its properties.

As they prepare the ordinance, city staffers have been discussing the characteristics of Sacramento’s plants with landscapers and horticulturalists, Hess said.

Many Sacramento residents are unaware of the city’s existing water conservation ordinance, she pointed out.

Kathleen Haley is a staff writer for The Sacramento Press