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Glendale water users could start loosening their taps if city approves ease in restrictions

For nearly two years, Glendale has been in phase three of its water-conservation plan, which restricts lawn watering to two days a week.

For nearly two years, Glendale has been in phase three of its water-conservation plan, which restricts lawn watering to two days a week.

(Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)
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Water-conservation standards could be lowered to a level in place before state mandates went into effect if the City Council directs the change sometime in July.

Residents have done their part in cutting back on watering lawns and conserving water following strict mandates set by California’s Water Control Board, said Steve Zurn, general manager of Glendale Water & Power.

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He told members of the Glendale Water & Power Commission on Monday that because homeowners have conserved so much in the past year, the city could ease up on watering restrictions, even during the hot summer months.

“There’s no question that water usage is going to be less than it was three years ago or even two years ago,” Zurn said. “People’s habits change and, in the water business, they change permanently.”

Last year, the state mandated Glendale cut back on its water consumption by 20%, and the community typically achieved a roughly 25% reduction. In recent months, the required reduction was scaled back to 18%.

That figure could drop even lower based on an influx in the water supply to the Metropolitan Water District, from which Glendale buys a third of its water supply, Zurn said.

For nearly two years, the city has been in phase three of its water-conservation plan, which restricts lawn watering to two days a week.

Zurn said given the boost in water supply, he thinks reverting to phase two — which allows watering three days a week — is doable because people are now accustomed to using less water.

Then there are the homeowners who swapped their lawns for drought-tolerant landscaping, which is a permanent removal of water usage from the local total.

Michael De Ghetto, assistant general manager of the utility, said it may be possible to even recommend council members drop to phase-one restrictions, which is voluntary conservation and would allow residents to water their lawns any day they like.

However, Zurn later clarified in a phone interview that he envisions some sort of restriction on days of the week to remain.

Mayor Paula Devine said she’s thankful for the commitment by residents to scale back on water consumption, and she thinks they deserve a break from the restrictions.

“They’re not going to take this as an order to go ahead and use as much water as they want,” she said in a phone interview. “They are going to continue the habits that they formed.”

Zurn said he will also recommend to council members that the drought rate be revoked. The rate was implemented last year and is an added 75 cents per hundred cubic feet of water — or 748 gallons — and adds to about $14 to a typical single-family customer’s utility bill each month.

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Arin Mikailian, arin.mikailian@latimes.com

Twitter: @ArinMikailian

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