Council, DWP Take Steps to Conserve Water in L.A.

Mandatory water conservation was tentatively ordered Tuesday for all Los Angeles residents and businesses for the first time since the mid-1970s drought because of sewer troubles brought on by the city’s rapid growth and the light winter snowpack in the Sierra Nevada.

The Los Angeles City Council, after an eight-hour debate over how to relieve strain on the sewers, gave preliminary approval to water-saving measures proposed in December by Mayor Tom Bradley.

Bradley aides said the measures, which will require property owners to install conservation devices on showers and toilets in order to reduce the flow of waste water into the sewers, would win final passage next week and take effect shortly afterward.

In a separate action motivated by fears of a water shortage, the Los Angeles Water and Power Commission invoked a 1977 law forbidding the serving of water in restaurants except on demand, banning the hosing of patios and driveways, and requiring property owners to repair leaky faucets and toilets.

Under the law, the commission was required to ask the mayor to declare a water emergency. The mayor’s office announced immediately that Bradley would sign the necessary proclamation today and ask for City Council concurrence so the law--which has not been used in Los Angeles since 1978--can be enforced by the Department of Water and Power.

Violators of the water conservation law could have special flow restrictors installed on their water lines to force compliance. But Duane L. Georgeson, deputy general manager of the DWP, said violators would receive two written warnings and that “only a few” restrictors were ever used when the law was last invoked in 1978.

The City Council action, which was prompted not by fears of drought but by fears of a massive collapse of the city sewage treatment system, would require all homes and businesses to install special water-saving shower heads and toilet-tank devices by Oct. 13 or face a penalty surcharge on water bills.

Costs to Water Users

The DWP would distribute the equipment without charge to all residential water users, in both homes and apartments. But the cost, more than $4 million, would be passed on to customers later. A rate increase also would be needed to offset revenue lost because less water would be sold, Georgeson said.

Owners of businesses and commercial buildings would be required to pay for the retrofitting themselves.

Although the requirement to install the water-conserving devices is mandatory, enforcement of the law would be different for businesses and residents. The owners of commercial buildings, including apartment houses, would be required to pay a plumber or someone else licensed by the city Department of Building and Safety to inspect the property and certify that the equipment was in place.

For single-family homes, the owner would only have to prove that the devices were installed when the house is sold or when the owner applied to the city for a building permit to renovate or remodel.

Problems With Sewers

Bradley’s conservation program, which also imposes new rules on operators of large outdoor turf areas such as golf courses, was first proposed in December after a year of troubles with the city sewer system. More than a dozen spills of raw and partly treated sewage aroused some residents, especially those along the coast of Santa Monica Bay, to complain about the decaying state of the sewers.

At the same time, Bradley was told by city engineers that rapid population growth in the past decade has far outstripped improvements to the city’s sewage treatment plants. Engineers warned the mayor that the sewer system, which also handles the sewage from more than 20 small cities and sanitation agencies that surround Los Angeles, would reach capacity and break down by 1992 if the growth in water use did not slow down.

Deputy Mayor Mike Gage said Tuesday that the water-conserving measures would only be needed until mid-1991, when the Tillman Sewage Treatment Plant in Van Nuys is completed. However, city officials have said the rules may stay in effect after that date to remind residents that Los Angeles depends on a water source 250 miles away.

After spending eight hours on the sewer problem Tuesday, the City Council also appeared to reach a consensus on a more controversial aspect of Bradley’s sewer-protection program--a limit on new development that would add flow to the sewers until the partly operational Tillman plant is finished.

Council Approval Seen

More than 25 amendments to Bradley’s proposal were approved or rejected by the council. But by the end of the session Gage said he was confident the policy--supported by the Greater Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce but doggedly opposed Tuesday by many developers and their lobbyists--was ready to win final council approval in the coming weeks.

Gage and other supporters of Bradley’s plan, led by council Planning Committee Chairman Hal Bernson, repelled numerous attempts by a Bradley rival, Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, and others to alter key provisions.

‘Battle Was Joined’

“I’d say we’re probably close to a consensus,” Gage said. “I believe the battle was joined today.”

The DWP’s action was taken after water officials reported that the snowmelt in the Eastern Sierra, where the city obtains most of its water, was far below normal this spring. Storage of water in reservoirs was already down because of a series of light winters, and many areas of the state are forecasting a water shortage.

The last time the drought-inspired law was invoked, the city also banned daytime watering of lawns and gardens. But the City Council suspended that aspect of the law in 1977 and the provision will not be applied now unless the council changes its mind.

Earlier in the day, state Water Resources Director David N. Kennedy declared that drought conditions exist in a wide area of California.

RESTRICTING WATER USE The Los Angeles City Council and the Department of Water and Power both moved Tuesday to restrict use of water. DWP actions to ease water shortages will take effect when the mayor signs the order and the City Council concurs, probably within one week:

Ban hosing of patios and driveways.

Ban restaurants from serving water except on request.

Require residents to repair leaking faucets and toilets.

Forbid decorative fountains that do not recycle water.

Request residents to voluntarily reduce water use by 10%.

The City Council actions are designed to restrict sewer use and will take effect upon final approval next week.

Require all businesses, apartments and homes to be fitted with water-saving devices by Oct. 13.

Require inspection by certified installer for businesses and apartments.

Single-family homeowners must prove compliance when selling home or applying for permit to remodel.

DWP will spend about $4 million to provide free water-saving shower heads and toilet tank devices to residents and homeowners.

Give Board of Public Works authority to order stricter measures if sewer crisis worsens.

Actions needed only until Tillman sewage treatment plant is completed in 1991.