Oxnard Council Wrestles With Question of Water Cutback : Conservation: At a crowded hearing, city leaders hear residents’ complaints about 10% reductions.

About 200 Oxnard residents attended a special City Council hearing Tuesday night to discuss how to cut the city’s residential water use by 10% beginning Feb. 1.

The council was still deciding late Tuesday night whether to make the reduction by imposing an across-the-board 10% cut from water use last year or through a program that allocates water based on family size.

Several residents criticized the mandatory reductions, saying the city is partly to blame for failing to restrict residential growth.

“How are you going to justify to the people here this evening and to the people of Oxnard these mandatory restrictions at the same time you continue to approve housing tracts that will increase the city’s water consumption?” Robert M. Cote said before a cheering crowd.

The council gave tentative approval last week to a rationing plan that would require a 10% cut in residential water use and a 30% cut in agricultural use beginning Feb. 1.

That plan was initiated in response to a mandate by the city’s main water provider, the Metropolitan Water District, which imports water from Northern California through the State Water Project. The city gets about two-thirds of its water from the MWD.

On Tuesday, city staff members outlined two alternative plans that would allocate water on the basis of family size. The two vary on the amounts of fines imposed on violators of the allocation.

In one plan, for example, a family of four would be allocated a maximum of 520 gallons a day. For every 25 gallons of water used over the allocation, the family would be fined $1.

The city of Ventura limits most households to 294 gallons a day, and other cities around the county are considering similar programs.

Council members pointed out that the city of Oxnard uses the least water in the county on a per-capita basis. The biggest water user per capita is Thousand Oaks.

If adopted, the 10% across-the-board reduction plan would be based on residential water use in the 12-month period between July, 1989, and June, 1990. For example, a customer’s total for March, 1991, must be the amount used in March, 1990, minus 10%.

New water customers would be provided a base allocation from which to calculate future allowances.

Under the plan, commercial and industrial water users would also be required to make 10% cuts.

In September, the council adopted a water conservation ordinance that bans such water-wasting practices as hosing off driveways. It imposes fines for violators.

If the city fails to meet the MWD’s requirements, it would be fined $393 for every acre-foot of water beyond its allocation. If the city cuts back use by more than 10%, it would receive a $99 credit for every acre-foot saved.

One acre-foot of water is enough to serve a family of five for a year.