OAK PARK, Calif. — The Triunfo Water and Sanitation District is enforcing stage one water conservation measures for Oak Park customers, limiting how much homeowners can water landscaping and compels people to fix reported leaks within 72 hours.

But when there's a water leak you can't find, there's a suspect everywhere you look. Kendall Nohre moved to a home in Oak Park with her kids less than a year ago. She soon realized her water never stopped running day or night. 

What You Need To Know

  • The Triunfo Water and Sanitation District services nearly 13,000 Oak Park customers in southeastern Ventura County

  • Residents are currently under stage one water conservation measures

  • Triunfo customers have electronic water meters to monitor their usage closely. Less than a quarter of people are using this tool even though the governor asked everyone to cut water use by 15%

  • The electronic water meters have helped customers pinpoint expensive and wasteful leaks

"It was driving me crazy walking around my property trying to find where this water was coming from. I couldn't for the life of me figure out where it was coming from," Nohre said.

She looked everywhere for possible culprits, but all the while, the problem was beneath her: a small hole in the pipe leading to her swimming pool. It pushed her water bill over the $500 mark and wasted as much as 30 gallons of water per hour.

"I know it's a resource we can't take for granted so I'm trying to do my part," Nohre said.

To find the leak, Nohre used something all 13,000 Triunfo customers have: an electronic water meter. Yet less than a quarter of people are using this tool even though the governor asked everyone to cut water use by 15%. This request has largely gone unfulfilled.

Justin Robbins, water and wastewater operations supervisor,  accesses meters every day.

"There's a lot of waste, a lot of runoff and hopefully people pay more attention to it and fix the leaks quickly," Robbins said.

Given the state's dire drought situation, Robbins and his team spend more time in the field looking for waste. They use auditory equipment— kind of like a stethoscope — to listen for the distinct sound of a pinhole leak.  

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Nohre only needs a computer to track her family's usage.

"You would think maybe baths, showers, laundry, dishwasher would be the culprit, but it's really my landscaping that takes the bulk of my water," Nohre said.

As stores dry up, it's getting to a point where water must be accounted for drop by drop.

The U.S. Drought Monitor places parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties in the exceptional and extreme drought categories. These are the most severe designations. Crops, reservoirs and streams are all likely to be impacted.