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East Bay Municipal Utilities District officials are urging their customers to ease off on the taps—at least until they can finish a much needed retrofit of the Claremont Tunnel. 

Failure to comply could lead to rationing, warns an announcement issued Friday. 

The source of a significant amount of the water used by customers form Crockett to Oakland, the tunnel has been closed to accommodate repairs that will enable it to better withstand earthquakes, reported utility spokesperson Charles C. Hardy. 

EBMUD has set a goal of reducing daily water use by 10 percent—or eight million gallons a day. 

If customers fail to trim their taps, the utility warns it could be forced to implement mandatory rationing.  

Customers affected are residents of Berkeley, Oakland north of Highway 24, Albany, El Cerrito, Richmond, Emeryville, San Pablo, Crockett, El Sobrante, Hercules, Rodeo, Kensington and Pinole.  

Like everything else these days, the risk of rationing is quantified in a color-coded scale—this one consisting of four levels ranging from green (low) through red (high). The current coding for the affected area is orange, for urgent. 

According to the utility’s code, orange means “demand is still too high ... to guarantee a reliable water supply,” with an uptick in the thermometer likely to lead to greater problems. 

EBMUD is asking customers to check their water systems for wasteful leaks, turn off all their sprinklers and stop washing their cars and driveways. 

The utility will update the alert every Monday for the duration of the repairs.