Council nixes drought charge; Glendale residents may resume thrice-a-week watering

Residents can once again water their lawns three times a week and no longer have to pay a drought charge on their utility bills following a vote by the City Council on Tuesday.

About two years ago, council members limited turning on yard sprinklers to twice a week after the California Water Board mandated that Glendale cut its usage by 20% in 2015 in response to one of the state’s worst ongoing droughts.

However, during the past year, residents have reduced water usage by more than the target and, combined with a larger water supply, utility officials said residents can water a bit more.

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Steve Zurn, general manager of Glendale Water & Power, said the Metropolitan Water District — the source of about 70% of the city’s water — has received a recent influx it hasn’t seen in four years.

Zurn said residents did their part in meeting the conservation challenge.

“This is a bit of a reward for the citizens for the good job they did,” he said.

The council responded by voting 5-0 to allow the extra day of watering.

Watering three times a week — as part of the second phase of the city’s mandatory conservation ordinance — will still meet state conservation requirements, Zurn said.

That schedule may even become the new norm, he said.

The updated watering schedule will stay in place until February, when the council will review it again.

Another reason Zurn said he recommends the watering schedule change is because he thinks the residents who learned to conserve got used to it.

Mayor Paula Devine said she agreed.

“This shouldn’t be a signal to start to waste water. We’re still in conservation mode,” she said. “I hope people who’ve formed those habits continue to conserve for the betterment of everybody.”

The updated watering schedule will now allow residents to switch on their sprinklers on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Councilman Zareh Sinanyan also commended residents who chipped in and did their part to conserve, saying the evidence was visible when driving around town and seeing how many front lawns in Glendale were brown.

Some even ripped out their lawns and installed drought-tolerant landscaping, he said.

“Those that haven’t done that, their lawns were either burnt out or they’re cheating somehow, so this extra day of watering is going to help,” Sinanyan said.

In recent months, the city monitored water usage and issued warnings to residents who watered lawns on prohibited days, while also fining some repeat offenders.

In addition, the council voted to suspend a drought charge implemented to make up for the loss of revenue triggered by increased conservation.

The rate started last year and added 75 cents per hundred cubic feet of water — or 748 gallons — to a single-family home’s utility bill. That averaged about $14 a month.

Along with a review of the watering schedule, council members will decide whether to keep the drought charge off the table or to reinstate it in February.

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Arin Mikailian, arin.mikailian@latimes.com

Twitter: @ArinMikailian