MWD Chief Urges an End to Water War : Resources: Carl Boronkay says competing forces must get together to avert future shortages.

The general manager of the Metropolitan Water District, which serves 15 million Southern Californians, on Friday urged competing forces in the ongoing water war to come together to solve the problems of future shortages.

Speaking to a water quality trade association meeting here, Carl Boronkay told the audience that a continuing drought, a cutback in the state’s share of Colorado River water and less than anticipated supplies from Northern California will lead to water shortfalls by the year 2000.

“I think it is time for a fresh look and a change in mind-set,” he told the 300 persons attending the opening session of the Pacific Water Quality Assn. convention at the Anaheim Marriott hotel. “We should now look at the problem as all our problems--the environment problem is my problem and the urban water supply problem is the problem of the Environmental Defense Fund and the agricultural water needs are the problems of the urban areas and the environmentalist.”

The competing forces in the battle of water allocation include the urban areas and the agricultural areas, environmentalists who want to protect the sources of the water, plus the competing regional forces--those in Northern Californa who have the water and those in the south who use it.

The Metropolitan Water District supplies 350,000 acre-feet of water (just over half the total in the county) to three of Orange County’s largest cities--Anaheim, Santa Ana and Fullerton--and two large municipal water districts that serve smaller cities. (An acre-foot of water equals 326,000 gallons, enough to supply two large families for a year.)

California is in its fourth year of drought. Runoff in the Sierra, the main source of water, fell to 63% of normal in 1987. It was 60% of normal in 1988 and 64% last year, and the 1990 total is expected to be less than 63% of normal, officials said.

After his speech, Boronkay said that if the drought continues and conservation efforts don’t work, Orange County, along with other counties in Southern California, could “start seeing substantial water shortages.” He said water used outside the homes for watering grass and washing cars would be the first to be cut back.

“Do you want to live that way? Would you like to look outside this hotel and see no lawns--see it all browned out?

“We need to get together. The interests that have opposed each other have all suffered. We have to get together and take the collective water problem and solve it.

“As far as the individual--you don’t even know you’re wasting water--the hose is running, the faucet is running. We are used to it as cheap and available and it is no longer cheap and available.”