Countywide : Residents Urged to Curtail Water Use

In response to drought warnings from state water officials, Orange County supervisors on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution urging business, government and residents to voluntarily cut back water consumption by at least 10%.

Although the county does not have the authority to enact mandatory restrictions, the resolution urges water suppliers to push conservation proposals and asks restaurants to post notices that water will be served only to those who ask for it. Residents are asked to avoid watering their yards during the middle of the day, to install pool covers and to stop hosing down driveways and sidewalks.

Tuesday’s vote came in response to a meeting last week, when water conservation officials appeared before the board and asked the county to take some action. The state is in the fourth year of a drought, and even though Orange County sits on a large underground lake that helps to buffer it from shortages, officials from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California nevertheless urged the county to join in the state’s efforts to curtail usage.

Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder, who has warned that the state and county are “approaching a crisis,” sponsored the resolution and said more recommendations for cutting back water use will be coming from a newly formed county task force. A progress report from the task force is expected within 60 days.

Wieder likened the water district’s warnings to a slap with a 2-by-4 and called on her colleagues to “raise public awareness now” by enacting voluntary restrictions.

At the Metropolitan Water District office in Los Angeles, officials welcomed the supervisors’ action.

“This certainly tells everyone in Orange County that the Board of Supervisors understands the urgency of water conservation,” said Tim Skrove, a spokesman for the district. “That’s an important part of the educational process.”

Skrove said the water district is urging cities to consider enacting ordinances that would curtail consumption. Other agencies, such as the county government, have less authority in regulating use, but they are being urged to pass resolutions like the one adopted by the supervisors Tuesday, he added.

“We have been encouraging government agencies to go ahead and take positions on the water issues so we can get the word out,” Skrove said.

In other business, supervisors received without comment a report on the status of the Laguna Laurel housing project, a 3,200-home Irvine Co. development planned at the mouth of Laguna Canyon. Environmentalists are fiercely opposed to the project, and the company has put it on hold.

In an effort to break the impasse, the county is exploring the possibility of buying the site and protecting it as open space. Money is a key issue, however, as the site is estimated to cost about $100 million.

Without debate, the supervisors directed staff members to study the county’s options for another 60 days before reporting back to the board. During that time, said Planning Director Tom Mathews, county staff will finalize cost estimates for the project and explore the possibility of putting a bond measure before voters in November.

In addition, Mathews said, the staff may hire a pollster to determine how voters might react to such a measure, particularly if it were paired with a half-cent sales tax increase for transportation.