SANTA CRUZ -- Santa Cruz residents will soon be facing restrictions on water use due to some of the driest weather in over a decade, according to water department officials.

Water Conservation Manager Toby Goddard announced Thursday that the restrictions were minor for now but could increase later in the year if rain does not arrive soon. The restrictions beginning May 1st will apply to outdoor residential irrigation between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., limiting plant and lawn watering.

"It would be irresponsible of us not to put in some kind of restriction given how dry it is," Goddard said. "We'll be policing water waste more heavily."

For those who might be bold enough to ignore a warning received in person, a $60 citation could follow, Goddard said. If the citation doesn't change behavior, overzealous water users could have their water supply turned off. Exceptions to the ban exist for professional gardeners and people who employ drip systems and shut-off nozzles.

Santa Cruz's water system is different from other local systems in that it's 98 percent dependent on surface water sources such as the San Lorenzo River, Loch Lomond Reservoir and other streams in the North Coast area.

Some 75 percent of the city's water comes from streams and rivers, with around another 20 percent coming from Loch Lomond Reservoir.

Only four to five percent of the city's water comes from underground wells, Goddard said.

Loch Lomond Reservoir right now is nearly full at 98 percent, but the problem is that it only holds half a year's supply of water for the city, and rain has not been falling as summer approaches.

The other big problem is that without the rain, the streams and San Lorenzo River were running very low.

Of the four levels of water conditions affecting the Santa Cruz water supply, the fourth and highest level, "critically dry," is in effect now, according to Goddard.

While last year's heavy rains are pulling many other communities through this dry winter, Santa Cruz has watched much of the spillover from Loch Lomond flow into the sea via rivers and streams, Goddard said.

But all of this concern is somewhat preemptive, according to Goddard.

"We know from experience it's not the first year that gets us, it's the second," he said.

Goddard explained that Santa Cruz's water is tied into the rest of the state as part of the same hydrological system connected to the Sierras. And the Sierras have had a bleak winter as well.

The California Department of Water Resources conducted its fourth survey of the Sierra snow pack for the 2006-2007 snow season Wednesday morning and found that the amount of water in the statewide snow pack is at 46 percent of normal levels, with the Northern Sierra snow pack recording higher levels than the Central and Southern Sierras, according to a statement from the DWR.