Landlords Mull Effect of Proposed Water Curbs : Rationing: Apartment owners wonder how they can get tenants’ cooperation if Bradley’s 10% cuts are enacted, since most buildings are master-metered.

Since Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley announced his mandatory water rationing proposal for the city, questions have come pouring in to the Apartment Assn. of Greater Los Angeles on what it would mean, if enacted, to both tenants and landlords.

Thus, this week’s Apartment Life column is devoted to a review of where we have been and where we may be going in terms of saving water in apartments.

The vast majority of apartment buildings in Los Angeles are master-metered, meaning that the landlords pay their tenants’ water bills, according to Department of Water and Power spokeswoman Stacy Unger.

Owners of master-metered buildings have asked how they can get their tenants to cut back on water use when they will not be monitored or penalized for using too much.

Karen Sheets, a Redondo Beach landlord who is considering implementing some of the mayor’s proposals even though she would not be required to do so, said:

“The mayor’s proposal is a good idea. But for me, it won’t be so easy to comply with. I am already very water-conscious and economical with my usage. Cutting back more would be tricky.

“Tenants, on the other hand, don’t pay the bill. So unless they are naturally conservationists, they have no incentive to cut back.”

Bradley’s mandatory water rationing plan underscores what most of us already know. We live in a desert and, from time to time, must take measures, sometimes drastic measures, to conserve our water supplies.

Whether the time for such measures is now remains the subject of debate.

“This (the mandatory rationing measure) is a judgment call on the mayor’s part,” said Richard Harasick, director of water conservation at the Department of Water and Power.

“DWP doesn’t feel that the numbers support the need for mandatory conservation. We have enough water for this year. When future supplies don’t meet current demands, then a plan such as the mayor’s become necessary.”

In an earlier interview with The Times, City Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores, chairwoman of the council’s Commerce, Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which oversees water issues and will review the mayor’s proposal, said, “I need to find out what information the mayor has that led to this decision.”

Councilman John Ferraro’s press deputy, Bill Gilson, said, “While Councilman Ferraro agrees that conservation is necessary, he’s not sure that rationing and penalties are appropriate right now.”

The city’s 1988 water conservation law already requires several measures from apartment owners and tenants.

Landlords were required to have installed low-flow shower heads in their rentals as of Oct. 13, 1988, that limit water flow to 3 gallons per minute, and toilet water displacement devices, that displace at least one-half gallon of water.

The law also prohibited hosing down patios and driveways to clean them, which had been the standard method by which apartment owners kept their properties clean.

The law further required residents to fix leaking faucets and toilets, and asked them to voluntarily reduce their water consumption by 10%.

While the law provides for penalties and fines for landlords who do not install the shower and toilet devices, it does not address the problem of tenants removing them, an issue that concerns landlords.

Also, apartment owners are concerned because Bradley’s proposal would penalize landlords whose buildings do not save the mandatory 10% but does not hold tenants accountable for their water use.

The DWP does not keep statistics on water usage in apartments. But use in single-family homes was 169,016 gallons per household per year in 1986, the base year in Bradley’s proposal, or almost 463 gallons a day.

In 1989, after the 1988 voluntary water conservation efforts, annual usage was down by only 408 gallons, a little over 1 gallon a day per household, to 168,608 gallons, or about 462 gallons per day.

The mayor’s proposal would reduce water consumption by 10% of the 1986 level, from the 461 gallons per household used each day last year down to 417 gallons a day, a savings of 44 gallons a day.

How much water is 44 gallons?

According to the Metropolitan Water District (MWD), the average 10-minute shower uses up 40 gallons of water. Most of us use 3 gallons each day we brush our teeth. Those who bathe save 20 gallons of water over their counterparts who shower.

And while we are saving 150 gallons of water by not hosing down our patios, we are still using that much water every time we wash our cars.

And while MWD officials say that the average household uses 300 to 500 gallons of water a day, most consumers are unaware that they use even a fraction of that amount. According to MWD, few believe that they use more than 50 to 75 gallons a day.

“It’s a great idea to save water, especially from the landlord’s point of view, because we foot the bill,” said Los Angeles landlord Ray Abadi. “But tenants may not feel this way. They are paying the rent, and many feel they should be able to use all the water they want.”

Palms tenant Dan Kendall doesn’t see it that way, however. “Water is a limited resource in our region. And, while it is true I don’t, as a tenant, pay for its usage, I recognize how important it is to conserve it.”

Hollywood apartment manager Brandon Keene:

“As (a manager), I can see both sides. This past year we tried to tighten up as best we could through maintenance. Any further cuts would be a burden on most people. You can’t tell a tenant that he can’t take a shower. What can we do? We would be interested to hear from the city how we could accomplish any such mandatory cutback.”