After declaring a Level 1 water-supply shortage last week, the Newport City Council put new water conservation regulations into place in order to comply with a recent state mandate, which went into effect this week.

Under the new regulations, Newport Beach customers’ water consumption should not exceed the average amount that was used over the past three years. Citizens can now only refill their fountains once a week, and cannot fill their pools more than a foot a week. Broken and leaky pipes must also be repaired within three days of notification.

Breaking such regulations is not without consequence. Violators will face a $100 fine on their first infraction, a $200 fine on their second, and a whopping $500 fine on their third.

The new rules may affect the local economy, too. Landscaping — an industry that generates about $74 billion in revenue nationally every year — will be put on a schedule. The new rules say that lawn and landscape irrigation must be limited to four days per week in April through October, and only two days per week in November through March. Customers will be assigned to specific watering day groups.

City rules from 2009 will remain in place. Customers will still be unable to hose off sidewalks, or water lawns during rain.

Despite the restriction of activities, the new rules shouldn’t put too much of a strain on people’s water supplies, just so long as they’re already conserving. In order to ensure the max amount of water consumption isn’t reached, citizens should practice such water conservation efforts as taking shorter showers, turning off the water after wetting their toothbrush, and reusing a pet’s leftover water instead of pouring it down the drain.