S.D. County Water Agency Seeks Mandatory Cutbacks

In an unprecedented effort to tighten the taps while facing a drought that has parched the state, the San Diego County Water Authority voted unanimously Thursday to ask its 24 member agencies to enact mandatory water-reduction measures.

The water authority directors recommended cutbacks that prohibit residents from washing cars, watering lawns or filling swimming pools during the daytime; restaurants from serving water to customers except when requested, and homeowners from hosing down sidewalks, driveways or tennis courts at any time.

The agency also suggested that all ornamental fountains be turned off.

The action is a recommendation to the 24 individual governments and water boards in the county, which now must independently decide whether to follow through with the restrictions that officials hope will bring about a 10% savings in water.

Water authority officials said they believe that most of its members will adopt the water-saving measures.

“I doubt any will go against them,” said Byron M. Buck, director of the agency’s water resources planning division. “This shouldn’t have any lifestyle impact; we’re just asking people to cut wasteful use.”

San Diego is not alone in its efforts to conserve. About 50 of California’s 58 counties have issued some kind of water restrictions, said Dean Thompson, a spokesman for the state Department of Water Resources’ Drought Center in Sacramento. They include rationing, moratoriums on new water connections, mandatory curbs and requests for voluntary conservation.

Of the counties that have issued restrictions, about half asked residents to voluntarily join the battle to curb water use; the others made the restrictions mandatory.

San Diego water authority members opted for mandatory restrictions Thursday after a 1987 program calling for voluntary water-saving efforts achieved only a 4% savings.

To help enact the new Drought Management Action Plan, the water authority board created a $185,000 fund to encourage widespread use of conservation techniques, such as low-pressure shower heads and devices to reduce the amount of water used by toilets. The board plans to launch an intensive two-month campaign--beginning in May--to inform residents, and to hire two more employees to help investigate reports of water waste.

The proposed water curbs were developed after agency staff members consulted business people, such as car wash operators and landscapers, who feared the restrictions would hurt them financially, said Bill Jacoby, a water resource specialist with the water authority. The restrictions will mostly affect homeowners, he said, who use more than 60% of the agency’s water. “None of these are meant to make anyone lose a job or to sacrifice landscape,” he said.

Each member agency, should it choose to endorse the recommendation, will be responsible for enforcing the restrictions. The city of San Diego already employs eight water code compliance officers, who can issue warnings to those in violation, Jacoby said.

If the restrictions were made a law, an errant resident could be charged with a misdemeanor and fined up to $1,000, he said.

In Ramona, the Municipal Water District imposed mandatory water-saving restrictions last May because of problems with an aging distribution system. Officials there have said that most residents abide by the rules and that only a few have been hit with fines.

Under the water authority’s Water Alert Plan, the 24 member agencies will be asked to adopt these mandatory regulations:

- Lawn watering, landscape irrigation, filling of swimming pools and car washing will be permitted on designated days from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Watering or washing by a hand-held hose, equipped with a shut-off valve, will be permitted any time. The designated days mean that property with even-numbered addresses can use water on even-numbered days; those with odd-numbered addresses use water on odd-numbered dates.

- Farmers and commercial nursery operators will be exempt from restrictions but will be asked to reduce all non-essential water use.

- The use of water from fire hydrants will be limited to firefighting and activities related to public safety.

- Water will not be used to wash sidewalks, driveways, tennis courts or patios, unless it alleviates a health hazard.

- Ornamental fountains will be turned off.

The board’s approval of the restrictions paves the way for the 24 member agencies to decide whether to adopt them. The San Diego City Council is expected to consider the proposal April 26.

Paul Downey, spokesman for San Diego Mayor Maureen O’Connor, said the mayor generally favors voluntary conservation measures but has not reviewed the specifics of the water authority’s recommendations.

“It has surprisingly not been a major issue in terms of letters and phone calls” to the mayor’s office, Downey said.

Councilwoman Judy McCarty said she would be against imposition of a mandatory lawn-watering schedule.

“I just have a problem with whether or not this (staggered schedule) is going to gain the support of the public,” McCarty said. “If they don’t believe there is a problem, they’re not going to support something mandatory, and we’re just wasting time.”

Before the San Diego panel voted, officials with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which supplies water to Los Angeles and Southern California, urged the San Diego County Water Authority to adopt the tough measures.

“We don’t have a secure water supply,” said Carl Boronkay, the MWD’s general manager. “What is needed is a comprehensive statewide policy.”

The MWD supplies water from Oxnard to the Mexican border. Among the 130 cities in its region, only about 10 have adopted ordinances similar to that proposed here, said Jay Malinowski, an MWD spokesman.

“We are hoping all cities will respond in a fashion similar to San Diego,” Malinowski said. “Virtually every city south of Sacramento should be adopting such ordinances if they haven’t already.”

The restrictions supported by San Diego’s water authority resemble an ordinance passed last year by the Los Angeles City Council.

Times staff writer Leonard Bernstein contributed to this story.