Don’t stop conserving water even though it’s raining, drought-stricken agencies warn
Despite this week’s storms signaling the arrival of El Niño, water districts in Orange County are urging residents to continue to conserve water through what is expected to be a wet winter.
Officials point to data from the State Water Resources Control Board that indicate one rainy El Niño season is not going to reverse the state’s persistent drought, which has lasted at least four years.
“I don’t think we’re out of the woods yet,” said Newport Beach Utilities Manager George Murdoch. “Our problem is the groundwater basins need to recharge and the reservoirs need to refill. With such a long drought, it’s pretty hard to fix it in one rainstorm.”
The Irvine Ranch Water District is on track to meet its state-mandated target for cumulative water-use cuts by the February deadline.
The Mesa Water District still has time to catch up to its required cumulative reduction, having dipped below it in the state’s latest report.
However, Newport Beach’s city utility is falling further behind its target.
Numbers released by the state water board on Tuesday show that water-use reductions throughout Orange County were far below state targets in November, with only two districts — Irvine Ranch and the city of Santa Ana — making the cut.
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Newport Beach far behind goal
Newport’s cumulative water savings from June to November were 20.1%, well short of the state-mandated goal, data show. Newport, which serves 66,219 customers, has been ordered to cut its water use by 28% between June and February, compared with that period two years earlier.
Newport managed a 15.5% reduction in November, data show. However, Murdoch said December conservation numbers tallied by the city show a 21.4% reduction, which he said points to the city moving in a positive direction.
“It’s good, especially for the wintertime, when most agencies are lowering their conservation rate and we’re going up,” he said.
The focus of the city’s enforcement efforts in the past month has shifted from residential to commercial customers such as hotels and restaurants, according to Murdoch.
Residents are permitted to water only one day per week through March.
“Our residents have done a great job cutting back,” he said. “Commercial customers probably could do a little bit more, but I understand if they don’t have landscaping it’s hard for them to cut back.”
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Irvine district beats target, Mesa struggles
The Irvine Ranch district, which serves 390,318 customers in Irvine and portions of Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Lake Forest, Orange, Tustin and unincorporated areas, exceeded its 16% conservation goal in November, with customers reducing water use by 18.3%.
Mesa Water, which serves 108,000 customers in Costa Mesa and portions of Newport Beach, has a 20% reduction target but managed only a 5.6% cut in November, one of the lowest in the county.
Still, the district isn’t far from its cumulative reduction goal, having managed an 18.9% cut since June, according to district spokeswoman Noelle Collins.
“We’re really hopeful [that] with the rain we’ll see the conservation percentage increase this month,” she said. “We still have time. When you have less room to conserve, it means people have to tighten the faucet a little bit more. Our customers have been great, but we’re asking them to do more.”
Mesa officials in December prohibited outdoor watering for all customers except those living in single-family residences, who are permitted to water on Saturdays. Outdoor irrigation remains the largest source of water use in the district, Collins said.
Officials are reminding customers to adjust their sprinklers because of the wet weather. State law prohibits watering during and for 48 hours after a rainstorm.
“The El Niño doesn’t help us much in Orange County except for people shutting off their irrigation,” Murdoch said.
