S.D. Hinders Water Saving, Critics Say

Mayors and directors of agencies that have adopted mandatory water conservation programs said Tuesday that the city of San Diego’s decision to adopt voluntary water conservation could prompt confusion among county residents.

“We were hoping that all the cities and agencies would go the mandatory route,” said National City Mayor George Waters. “When the (county’s) biggest city doesn’t go along, it has an effect . . . it makes people question if there’s a crisis.”

In Sacramento, Assemblyman Steve Peace (D-La Mesa) said Tuesday that San Diego’s decision to opt for voluntary conservation during the drought is a political and public relations blunder that will come back to haunt the city.

Peace said in an interview. “This voluntary water conservation is nothing but a highfalutin public relations program and I don’t understand what the motivation is.”

In a letter he wrote to Mayor Maureen O’Connor, Peace said, “How am I to explain to other Californians that at a time when virtually every community in the state is engaged in mandatory water conservation measures that the city at the very end of the pipeline finds such measures unnecessary?”

Escondido Planning Commissioner David Drake, who serves as that city’s representative to the San Diego County Water Authority, said Escondido is “already hearing from some citizens who say ‘Why should I go along with mandatory when it’s voluntary in San Diego?’ ”

Drake suggested San Diego’s vote could also reduce the impact of the County Water Authority’s upcoming public information campaign.

“It will say water conservation is mandatory, but there will be a little asterisk that says ‘except for you folks in San Diego,’ ” Drake said. “That’s a bizarre message to send.”

However, none of the 16 agencies that have adopted mandatory conservation programs in San Diego County have plans to switch to voluntary programs, according to results of an informal poll of water agency officials that a local water district official conducted Tuesday.

Mandatory water conservation programs typically restrict when residents can water lawns, fill swimming pools and wash cars. Most of the ordinances prohibit those activities except between the hours of 6 p.m. and 9 a.m. Some ordinances now in effect require residents to water only on certain days of the week, as determined by the last number of their street addresses.

Board members of the Sweetwater Authority, which supplies water in National City, Bonita and parts of Chula Vista, last week asked San Diego to join the growing number of communities that have adopted mandatory water conservation programs.

Sweetwater’s board believes that an effective mandatory conservation program must be “consistently applied (around the county) if our efforts are to be successful,” Sweetwater Authority Chairman Wayne Smith said Tuesday. In a letter mailed to San Diego Mayor Maureen O’Connor, Sweetwater’s board argued that a voluntary program in San Diego could have an “adverse impact” on the success of mandatory programs.

“There’s a mixed message when the big city like San Diego goes voluntary,” Waters said. “It makes it sound to most of the population that there’s not really a problem. But I know that O’Connor and San Diego Council know darn well that there’s a water shortage.”

San Diego’s decision to achieve a 10% cut in water use through a voluntary program might also hinder Southern California’s long-running battle to wring more water out of Northern California, said Drake, the Escondido official. Water experts know that water-conscious Northern Californians, who have the power to restrict water flowing into the southern part of the state, look for reasons to chide Southern Californians for their water-wasting lifestyles.

“In negotiations with Northern California agencies, the stronger message we can send on conservation, the easier it is to negotiate,” Drake said. “It’s always hard to get all the players behind (a given campaign) and this is one of the few occasions where there was (countywide) unanimity--except in San Diego City Council,” Drake said.

“Any time you lose your credibility, it can impact you not only on related issues but unrelated issues, whether it is funding for park programs or budget requests,” Peace said. “How do you think this looks for San Diego at a time when we’re trying to get the governor to come to agreement on funding for the new jail?”

In his letter to O’Connor, Peace protested the voluntary conservation program adopted Tuesday and asked the city to reconsider mandatory conservation like many other cities in San Diego County. In the letter, the legislator characterized the city’s decision as “curious” and criticized O’Connor’s leadership by saying her “current inaction seriously threatens our community’s future.”

Despite his displeasure, Peace said he has no immediate plans to sponsor legislation that would force San Diego to observe mandatory water conservation. However, he said he hasn’t “foreclosed the option.”

Times staff writer Ralph Frammolino in Sacramento contributed to this story.