MWD May Have to Cut Farmers’ Water in ’89

For the first time, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California may have to cut back water to some agriculture users during the summer of 1989 if unusually dry conditions continue, according to MWD General Manager Carl Boronkay.

The first steps toward issuing such a warning were taken Monday by the district’s Water Problems Committee during a meeting to consider ways to meet any water crisis, Boronkay said. Farmers must be told a year in advance of any water cutbacks.

While MWD contemplates no water shortages this coming summer, Boronkay said, the public and the farmers “should be aware of the outlook for reduced water supplies,” if there is another dry winter this year.

Southern California, like the rest of the state, is experiencing a second straight year of lower than usual water storage conditions, experts say. While heavy rains in 1986 filled reservoirs with enough water to guarantee normal deliveries thorough this current season, a light snowpack in the mountains and the dry winter locally signal a water-scarce summer, MWD officials fear.

The MWD is a wholesaling agency that provides 2 million acre-feet of water a year to 27 cities and water districts throughout six Southern California counties. The water comes primarily from the Colorado River and from the California Water Project.

Unseasonally dry weather, combined with an expanding population, have pushed Southland water consumption to record levels this year, according to MWD spokesman Tim Skrove.

“In March we sold 160,000 acre-feet of water. . . . That topped the previous March high by 30,000 acre feet . . . and we expect to break the record again this month,” he said.

The water outlook is “quite grim,” according to Assistant General Manager Richard Balcerzak.

He explained that because “there might be some shortages” in the summer of 1989, the district legally must warn the farmers a year in advance that the district might have to curtail or cut off delivery of up to 200,000 acre-feet to croplands. An acre-foot contains 325,851 gallons of water.

At Monday’s meeting, the committee voted to hold a public hearing May 9 before making its recommendation to the MWD board of directors. Boronkay explained that the warning, if issued by the board, would only be a notice that such action could be taken if needed.

“If we have a normal winter next year, there’ll be no need to take such action,” he said.

However, Boronkay warned that a continued dry spell might also cause the MWD to curtail deliveries to some of its municipal customer agencies, as well. Unlike the agriculture water deliveries, no special warnings have to be given to districts that have “interruptible” water rights, he said.

Northern Share

Boronkay said the threat to Southern California is not as great as it is to Northern California because the MWD’s Colorado River Water supply is not affected. However, he said the MWD’s share of northern water from the California Water Project may be off by up to half unless new storms feed the Sierra snowpack. Without rains and snow to fill California’s storage basins, “there could be a severe shortage next year,” he said.

The MWD has begun an informational campaign to alert the public that a water crisis may be in the offing and to urge water conservation, Boronkay said. A voluntary water conservation program, including the use of “flow restricters” on showers and similar devices, may be suggested to the district’s customers, he said.

A mandatory conservation program for residents and others, however, is before the Los Angeles City Council awaiting action.