Drive to Cut Water Use 10% Falls Short of Goal

Four months, 350,000 shower heads and countless non-flushes since the start of a water conservation campaign, drought-conscious Southern Californians have saved billions upon billions of gallons but are falling short of the official 10% conservation goal.

A survey by the Metropolitan Water District since the campaign began in mid-June suggests that water usage was down 3.7% for the full month of June, 9.4% for July and 8.1% for August, “compared to what otherwise would have been expected,” said Jay Malinowski, MWD spokesman. The MWD provides 55% of the water for the area stretching from Ventura County to the Mexican border.

Stronger Efforts

Put another way, savings for those three months--data was not available for September--amounted to 33 billion gallons or 90,500 acre-feet of water. One acre-foot (the amount it would take to cover an acre to a depth of one foot) is equal to the water two typical families use in and around the home for a year, officials said.

The early findings, Malinowski said, suggest that stronger conservation efforts are required.

“We’ve seen a tapering off (in savings). . . . People get kind of inured to the message,” he said.

People need to conserve now to avoid trouble next year, Malinowski said.

“The summer of ’89 has been our concern all along. The prospect of a third year of a drought is not a thrilling one, but it is possible,” he said.

Major Clients

The MWD’s survey compares an estimate of actual water use against a model of “expected” use in non-conservation periods, Malinowski said. The model, established on 10 years worth of data, factors such variables as community growth, seasonal tourism changes and temperature. Officials established a 10% reduction as a realistic conservation goal.

The estimate of actual use is based on data collected from nine major clients of the umbrella MWD system: the cities of Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Long Beach, Glendale, Pasadena, Fullerton, Anaheim and Santa Ana, as well as the San Diego County Water Authority, which encompasses the city of San Diego and other coastal cities of San Diego County.

When measurement of the Sierra Nevada snow melt in April proved troubling, water officials began planning for escalated conservation efforts. The campaign was formally inaugurated June 13, with a blitz of TV ads, billboards, bill stuffers and other media suggesting such water-saving measures as reduced irrigation for gardening. Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley held a press conference to implore citizens, “Don’t flush after every use.”

Also concerned about the strain that water places on the city’s overworked sewer system, the Los Angeles City Council adopted an ordinance encouraging property owners to install low-flow shower heads and displacement bags to reduce capacity of toilet tanks.

The city’s Department of Water and Power is distributing the shower heads and displacement bags free to customers who request them by returning coupons that accompanied July and August water bills. Customers soon will be able to get the kits by phone as well, DWP officials said.

The Los Angeles ordinance puts a bite on landlords of multifamily dwellings but has no teeth for single-family home and duplex owners. Apartment owners who fail to provide written certification by April 13 that such gadgets have been installed must pay surcharges on their water bill. A decision is pending for condominium owners.

Owners of single-family homes and duplexes face no such penalties.

‘Voluntary Program’

“It’s a voluntary program, but it’s the law,” DWP engineer Jim McDaniel said.

He said that 350,000 shower heads have been distributed so far, including 250,000 to multifamily property owners and 100,000 to owners of single-family homes and duplexes. The shower heads cost the DWP $2.30 each, the bags about 25 cents, he said. The devices are estimated to save 10 gallons a day per person.

In addition, the Los Angeles ordinance imposes surcharges, also effective April 13, for owners of turf grass covering three acres or more, such as golf courses, cemeteries, colleges and high schools. Owners of those properties that use more than 90% of actual water use in 1986 will have to pay surcharges.

The largest such landowner is the city of Los Angeles. Parks and Recreation officials said they have begun efforts to reduce water use on parklands, although so far they lack data on results.

Robert Fawcett, a city landscape architectural associate, said officials are studying new ways to conserve, among them use of a “rain cup” device that would shut off sprinklers when it rains.