Water Supplies Drop; District Studies Options : Drought: Ventura buys 40% of the agency’s water. Allocation cutbacks would increase pressure on the city to ration.

With water supplies in Lake Casitas nearing dangerously low levels, Casitas Municipal Water District officials this week began planning emergency measures that could force customers in Ventura and Ojai to conserve.

Casitas officials held the first of three hearings Tuesday to review possible mandatory and voluntary water cutbacks for the district’s 2,700 customers.

The district’s largest customer is the city of Ventura, which buys 40% of Casitas’ water. The city’s water department, in turn, sells water to its 25,000 customers.

A cutback from Casitas would further reduce the city of Ventura’s water supply and increase the pressure on the city to impose water-rationing measures on homeowners and businesses.

Ventura’s water supply comes from Lake Casitas, the Ventura River and wells that are primarily in the East Ventura area.

Among the five options being considered by the Casitas district are measures to raise water rates, limit allocations, impose a moratorium on new customers and develop new supplies of water, said John Johnson, district manager.

Casitas officials said they are considering the restrictions because demand for water at a time of drought is outstripping supplies. If water drops below a critical level, Lake Casitas could run dry, they said.

“This is probably the worst that I’ve seen in the past 18 years that I’ve been on the board,” said Marion Walker, Casitas director. The Casitas district covers nearly half of the city, spilling into the western part of Ventura.

Johnson said the water agency cannot afford to gamble on when the dry spell will end. If no measures are taken to restrict demand, available water that can be drawn from Lake Casitas could drop below the danger level in July, Johnson said.

“It’s like going to Las Vegas and rolling the dice,” Johnson said. “If you dip below, then you can anticipate that when you hit your maximum dry spell, you could run out of water.”

Casitas officials will hold a hearing Feb. 27 to review the proposals with the city of Ventura before a decision is made in early March, Johnson said.

The Casitas district is not alone in its concern about lack of rainfall. Residents filled Ventura City Hall Monday night hoping to kill a mandatory conservation plan proposed by the City Council.

During a five-hour debate punctuated by jeers and clapping, Ventura City Manager John Baker told about 150 audience members that mandatory water conservation is the toughest decision the city will have to make.

“This is the most difficult issue that’s faced this city in probably the last decade,” Baker said. “We don’t like to cry wolf unless the wolf is at the door. We’re saying the wolf is at the door.”

It was the third council meeting at which the water-conservation plan has drawn opposition. The debate will likely be replayed at another hearing Feb. 26 before the council takes a final vote March 5 on imposing the emergency measures.

In its two-pronged attack on the water shortage, the Ventura City Council is reviewing a proposal to halt new water hookups temporarily while imposing a severe cutback on water users. If passed, the measure would take effect April 6.

A new provision was introduced banning all new water-service hookups until the city solves its water shortage. Five options were presented to the City Council for the first time this week, some of which could halt the building of hundreds of housing units planned for construction this year.

The most stringent of the options would prevent 1,435 units from being built until the shortage ends. The least stringent affects no dwelling units.

Single-family households would be restricted to using 294 gallons of water daily, which in some cases would be a reduction of up to 30%.

Residents of apartments, condominiums and mobile homes have a smaller allocation of 196 gallons of water per day. Those who consistently violate the proposed ordinance would face stiff fines.

For businesses and government offices there are no daily allocations proposed. They are being asked to cut back by only 15%.

The plan drew almost universal opposition from homeowners, small and large business owners alike. Council members fielded questions from residents and business owners worried about how much their water bills would increase, while others argued it would mean their financial ruin.

“If Laundromats are fined four times their water bill, that would wipe me out,” said Laundromat owner Susan A. Huff. “Where do the people who can’t afford a washer and dryer go?”

As council members attempted to amend the measure even in the early morning hours of the hearing, Mayor Richard Francis predicted that the final version may still anger many.

“It would be nice to have an ordinance that was perfectly fair to individuals and was fair to every individual consideration, but it’s not practical,” Francis said.