THE DROUGHT : 14% of Water Users Exceed Limits

About 14% of Ventura’s 25,926 water customers violated the city’s mandatory conservation ordinance in the bimonthly billing period that ended in August, according to city statistics released Wednesday. It was the first billing period since the penalty phase of the ordinance went into effect in June.

Of the 3,587 water violators, 2,868 were residential customers and 707 were commercial customers. Also violating the ordinance were 11 churches and one school.

City spokeswoman Carol Green said officials were pleased with the city’s 86% compliance rate. “The City Council congratulates Venturans on their response and thanks them for their continued efforts,” she said.

Green said she was especially pleased because almost half of the violators had exceeded their allocations by less than 1,000 cubic feet. One thousand cubic feet equals 7,480 gallons. “This indicates a serious conservation effort on the part of Venturans,” she said.

Under the city ordinance, single-family houses are allowed 294 gallons a day and multifamily dwellings 196 gallons a day. Businesses must cut back water use by 15% compared with last year, and institutional customers, such as schools, churches and government offices, must reduce their use by 20%.

Violators are charged four times the normal water rate for every gallon they use above their allocation, and up to 10 times the rate if they violate the ordinance on three bills in a row.

But the ordinance stipulates that the penalty money be reimbursed if, after 12 months, the violators have saved enough water to make up for their temporary excess use.

Customers may receive extra allocations if they can prove that using less water would cause them undue hardships.

Green said businesses and multifamily customers such as mobile home parks and apartment buildings have had the most trouble staying within their allocations, because the responsibility for wasting water is shared among several people.

“I think large organizations run by groups have more trouble getting a handle on the situation than, say, single homes, where individuals make the decisions by themselves.”

A list of the 80 worst commercial violators released by the city included almost every type of business in town. There were motels such as Motel 6, the Toys R Us store, a Shell Oil gas station on Victoria Avenue, the 101 Theater Corp. and a Vons supermarket.

Some merchants said it was impossible for them to reduce water use to the extent required by the city.

“We run 20 trucks that we have to wash and I don’t know how we’re going to cut water use any further,” said Frankie Ortiz of Ortiz Bros. Trucking, whose company was fined about $300. “We have to wash the inside of the trailers.”

“I don’t know what we can do to cut down water use any further and still meet health and safety requirements,” said Kevin Dillenburg, night manager at Carrow’s Restaurant, which was also heavily fined. “Somehow, we have to get the cleaning done.”

Other businessmen, such as Harlan Fugate at Ventura Kawasaki, said the excess water use was caused by plumbing problems that have now been corrected. “If we’re not OK this month, I’ll kill somebody,” he said.

Among the residents, some of the biggest violators were large property owners who refused to let their gardens die to stay within their allocations.

Gerry Martin of Telegraph Road was told to cut back her average water use of 2,000 gallons a day on her 1 1/2-acre estate by 80%. Since she cut back only to 1,100 gallons a day, she received an $800 water bill.

“I’ve been working on my garden for 10 years,” said Martin, 56. “I have azaleas, roses and a Japanese tea tree valued at $30,000. I can’t just let my garden die, because I’m too old to start a new one.”

Other residents were at a loss to explain why they were being penalized. “I didn’t use that much water,” protested 88-year-old Wilma Buckmaster of Lupine Way, whose water bill increased from $30 to $400. She said she has 20 fruit trees on her property but that she has stopped watering them since she received her bill. “I don’t know what happened,” she added.