DWP Plans to Cut Customers’ Water Bills

The record rainfall boosted Los Angeles’ water supply so much that the city plans to reduce customers’ water bills by 9%, but many other parts of Southern California aren’t likely to see similar rate cuts.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said it is able to reduce bills by an average of $2.60 per month because a prime source of local drinking water, the Eastern Sierra Nevada, has seen above-normal snow levels for the first time in six years.

As a result, the city expects to use less water imported from the Colorado River, which is more expensive than mountain water shipped down the city-owned Los Angeles Aqueduct.

“We’ve had below average precipitation for the last five years, so we haven’t had a lot of good news to share with customers until now,” said Jim McDaniel, the DWP’s chief operating officer for the water system.

The Colorado River water is imported by the Metropolitan Water District, a wholesaler that then sells it to local water districts. Many surrounding communities rely much more on the Colorado River than Los Angeles, so they are not expecting to see the same savings.

“We’re really subject to what MWD does,” said Ryan Alsop, an official for the Long Beach Water Department, which serves more than 480,000 people. “L.A. is unique. They’ve got the separate aqueduct and more water rights than any other [MWD] member agency.”

In Burbank, the city has increased water charges by 4.8% in the last few years, as the costs of the MWD’s imported water has increased. That trend will probably continue for at least the next few years, said Bill Mace, an assistant general manger for Burbank Water and Power.

“Frankly, our rates are going up to match the rates of water we have to buy,” Mace said. “We’ve been living on banked water for about 10 years, and that’s pretty much drawing to an end.”

Southern California has recorded more than 34 inches of rain this season, making it one of the wettest on record. Some meteorologists have said it could break the all-time record, which is 38.18 inches measured in 1884.

The winter storms have also dumped heavy snow in the Sierra. A snowpack survey conducted March 1 showed that the Sierra had a water content equal to 175% of average to date. That should mean that water runoff through next March will be 123% of normal, McDaniel said.

Snow surveys are conducted each month from January to April to forecast Los Angeles water supply for the coming year.

The bountiful snowpack marks a major turnaround. In recent years, Los Angeles has had to rely on the MWD for most of its drinking water because snow levels were so low in the Eastern Sierra. Since 1999, the average amount of Sierra runoff has been about 22% below normal.

“This year we’ll probably get about 50% to 60% of our water from the Eastern Sierra,” he said.

Though much of the rain water runs off into storm drains and into the ocean, the record rains -- which caused deadly mudslides, flooded roads and snarled commutes -- have replenished groundwater reserves.

All 27 of Los Angeles County’s groundwater collecting basins were filled to capacity after February’s rains, the county’s Department of Public Works said.

In Los Angeles, the DWP said San Fernando Valley aquifers have particularly benefited from the rain, though the city generally gets less than 15% of its supply from local groundwater.

The storms have encouraged conservation by reducing water demand for such activities as landscaping and washing cars. Demand in Los Angeles has been slashed by 8% because of the rainfall, the DWP said.

But for much of Southern California, those reductions in demand go only so far.

The Colorado River Basin remains a key source of drinking water, and it remains under drought conditions.

Lake Mead and Lake Powell, which are fed by the Colorado River, were only about 59% and 34% full, respectively, after February’s rains. Still, MWD officials expected the Colorado River Basin to see near-normal water flows into Lake Powell, one of the West’s biggest reservoirs for the first time since 1999.

The prospect of getting 50% or more water this year from the Sierra prompted DWP officials to say it’s possible customers could see another cut in their bills this summer, depending on how high the snowpack gets.

In the past, Los Angeles has received even more of its water from the peaks, but environmental agreements now require about a third of DWP’s Eastern Sierra water to be diverted to Mono and Owen lakes.

Water is returned to the Owens Lake to curb dust storms that have ripped through desert towns and foothills since L.A.’s aqueduct began diverting the Owens River in 1913. “We used to get up to 75% of our water from the Eastern Sierra,” McDaniel said. “I don’t think we’re going to see days like that anymore.”

Over the weekend, meanwhile, the Los Angeles Department of Public Works said the city would increase sewer rates to maintain the current level of service and comply with the terms of a $2-billion settlement with environmental groups in 2004.

Industrial, commercial and residential users will be affected by the increases, department spokesman Mike Qualls said. Currently, the typical single-family household pays about $21 a month. Under the new rates, Qualls said, the monthly sewer service charge would rise by about $1.75 each year, reaching about $30 a month after five years.

The rate hikes stem from an August 2004 federal court settlement. The deal ended six years of litigation precipitated by heavy rains in 1998 that triggered wastewater spills in the city. Under the settlement, the city agreed to upgrade the sewer system infrastructure and to enhance maintenance and water spill-reduction efforts.

The city will have to spend another $425 million over the next five years to fund $36 million in additional operating expenses and $389 million in additional capital costs and repayment of loans obtained to finance the projects, department officials said.*

Times staff writer Henry Weinstein contributed to this report.