Standby Ordinance Ordered for Use in Event of Drought : Water Rationing Rules on Tap--Just in Case

Ten years after a severe drought parched the state, San Diego officials are considering tough rationing measures in the event of another water shortage.

On Wednesday, the City Council’s Public Services and Safety Committee met with members of the San Diego County Water Authority to begin laying the groundwork for an emergency water rationing ordinance.

“It is preferable to have a law of this kind on the books so it can be implemented without problems should the need arise,” said Lawrence Hirsch of the water authority.

Following discussions with the water authority, the committee unanimously directed the city manager’s office to begin drafting such an ordinance. It also directed the Planning Department to report back to the committee on whether environmental impact reports filed before development projects are approved should include the effect a project would have on the city’s water supply.

Assistant City Manager John Lockwood, in a report to the committee, outlined the rationing measures that likely would be included in the law.

They include:

- Limiting landscape watering to once weekly, between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m.

- Prohibiting the washing of cars, trucks, boats, airplanes and other mobile equipment.

- Reducing by 50% the use of water for construction, commercial and manufacturing purposes.

- Prohibiting water use for air conditioning, ornamental fountains, swimming pools, golf courses and other commercial irrigation uses.

“Water consumption would have to be reduced by 50% citywide and 75% in portions of the area served by the Lake Miramar reservoir,” Lockwood said. (Communities served by Lake Miramar include Rancho Bernardo, Scripps Ranch, Sabre Springs and Rancho Penasquitos.)

Lockwood said such severe measures might not be necessary if construction of the Pamo dam near Ramona goes forward. “Construction of the Pamo Dam will be the most effective and expeditious means of providing water supply to the northern areas of the city,” Lockwood said, adding that the ordinance would serve as an interim measure until the dam is built.

There is widespread opposition to the development of Pamo dam, however, and Emily Durbin, a spokeswoman for the Sierra Club, warned committee members not to count on the project to meet the city’s growing water needs. Durbin urged the committee to consider permanent measures for saving water, regardless of whether the dam is built.

“You are mistaken if you think the opposition to Pamo dam will just melt away,” Durbin said. “In any case, it would be naive to think we can continue our present water use habits. There are many things that could be done before we had to resort to the extreme measures outlined in the manager’s report. We should start addressing those future planning needs right now.”

Pamo dam, Lockwood said, would provide the city with a six-month emergency storage of water for the north city communities. “The construction of Pamo dam would eliminate the shortage of emergency supply to Miramar,” Lockwood said. “Without the availability of Pamo reservoir, severe sacrifices would have to be made by city residents.”

Hirsch said the enactment of emergency rationing laws would allow the city to move quickly to “avoid as much as possible the sad, unfortunate circumstances of the 1976-77 drought.”

He urged that “issues of public safety and health, as well as the economic impact these measures would have on the community,” be considered when the proposed ordinance is reviewed by the entire City Council.

“There are serious questions that have to be answered here as soon as possible,” said Councilman William Jones. “This problem is not going to go away.”

Jones said the proposal to include an analysis on the impact on water supplies in environmental impact reports had met with opposition from council members in the past.

“We’ve got to realize that as the city grows, so does the impact on our water demand,” Jones said.

Diane Dugan, of the Planning Department, said, “The primary issue here is whether the public and the decision makers need to be made aware of the effect a development project might have on future water supplies.”

Council members Uvaldo Martinez and Judy McCarty also urged that the council consider adopting measure to encourage greater use of reclaimed water in the city. A report on possible measures will be before the committee in early March.