One City’s Conservation Shows the Way : * Other Orange County Areas May End Up as Pressed for Water as San Clemente Was

When the Metropolitan Water District recently announced that it would impose rationing on water districts next year, most local authorities in Orange County said they have no immediate plans to impose mandatory restrictions on businesses or residential customers and anticipate no rate increases in the future.

That was possible because Orange County in general has done a satisfactory job of responding to voluntary calls for conservation, and because the northern part of the county benefits from good luck: It is blessed not so much by its efforts to save water as by its location. It sits atop an underground lake that supplies a good deal of water.

But it’s a different story in the southern cities, which have had high growth in recent years and are most dependent on imported water from the MWD and other sources.

One of those communities, San Clemente, has just completed a full year’s experience with mandatory water rationing. The results are heartening for other communities that might end up as pressed as San Clemente was; it simply had to act because it was running out of water.

The results of the experience of cracking the whip for a year are that--despite an increase in both residential and commercial customers--San Clemente has dropped to about 62% of last year’s consumption. And by the way, San Clemente has positioned itself well for the new water rationing ahead. Because the city has already undertaken a water conservation program, the water it has saved so far will be credited against the water reduction quota that will be imposed by the Metropolitan Water District.

In San Clemente during the past year, a building moratorium was imposed, lawn watering was allowed only during certain hours, and on assigned days, and water wasters were subject to fines.

The City Council also voted to contribute $723,000 to help install water-saving plumbing fixtures in homes built before a state law went into effect requiring those devices. And most important, individual residents have been inspired to do such things as remove grass from back yards and install brick and cactus. Creating the atmosphere for water conservation where residents take it upon themselves to find ways of saving is a plus that can pay off for the long term.

If the drought continues, other county communities may have to impose more severe curbs. For them San Clemente has shown the way in the first year.