Bradley Calls for Toughest Water Rationing in History : Drought: Residents would have to cut usage 10% on March 1 and 15% on May 1. Council must act on plan.

Calling Sierra Nevada snowpack figures “astonishing” and “frightening,” Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley on Friday called for the toughest water-rationing measures in the city’s history.

Bradley and Department of Water and Power officials said they want the measures enacted quickly so that on March 1, the 3.5 million residents of Los Angeles would be required to cut their water use by 10% from 1986 levels, and on May 1 by 15%. Those who fail to conserve would face stiff surcharges on their DWP bills.

“We want people to know this is serious, that we must begin now to make those cuts,” Bradley said. “We don’t have any choice.”

The proposal is expected to win rapid approval of the City Council, which last summer rejected Bradley’s plea for a 10% mandatory cutback.

Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores, who was instrumental in killing the mandatory plan, endorsed the tough new restrictions, as did council President John Ferraro.

“It’s desperation time,” Ferraro said. “We have to move ahead and do these things because it’s going to be a long, hot summer. If we don’t do it now, we’re going to be in serious trouble.”

On Friday morning, Gov. Pete Wilson stopped short of declaring a statewide drought emergency, but ordered the creation of an emergency task force of top water officials to deal with the shortage. Wilson said there had been no showing yet that local officials could not deal with the fifth year of drought without state intervention.

“It’s vitally important that we in the city of Los Angeles move quickly,” said Michael Gage, president of the DWP board of commissioners. “We’re moving faster than any other local area down here.”

Even a 15% cutback may not be enough, said Gage. He predicted that more bad news about rain and snowfall could force the city to seek more stringent measures later this year.

On Thursday, DWP surveyors found the end-of-January snowcap 87% lower than usual--a lighter covering than in 1977, the only time that the city has gone to mandatory rationing.

As a result of the grim findings, the DWP--which in normal years gets 70% of its water supply from the Eastern Sierra watershed--predicted that spring runoff will be 28% to 45% of normal. In 1977, runoff was 42% of normal, a DWP spokesman said, but rationing was rescinded after several months because heavy rains came.

A survey of the City Council on Friday showed that 11 of the 14 members either intend to vote for rationing or probably will vote for Bradley’s plan. Councilmen Richard Alatorre, Hal Bernson and Nate Holden said they would not decide until they hear evidence from the DWP that rationing is necessary.

“If it comes down to a critical situation, I’ll support it, but I don’t like it,” Bernson said. “Until somebody proves to me that it’s absolutely necessary, I’m not going to support mandatory rationing.”

Two council members said Bradley’s plan did not go far enough.

Councilwoman Ruth Galanter proposed an ordinance Friday that would give the council the power to restrict or cut off new water hookups--an action that would severely limit new development in the city.

“We’ve reached the point now where there isn’t enough water to go around,” Galanter said.

Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky joined Galanter in pushing the measure, saying: “You can’t have a policy that says we’re going to force you to cut 15%, on the one hand, and another policy that says we’re going to let you build more Century Cities, on the other hand.”

A spokesman for Bradley said the mayor opposes the proposal because “it will worsen the recession” by restricting economic growth.

If the council approves Bradley’s rationing plan, the 640,000 DWP customers in Los Angeles will receive with their next bills detailed information about the regulations, said James Derry, DWP director of customer services.

Goals for each household or business will be spelled out, along with information about 1986 usage levels, he said. The following bill will tell customers if they have met the goal and tell them what the goal for the subsequent billing period will be, he said.

The first penalties will be assessed in July, he said.

Manufacturing facilities that use water in processing products face 15% cutbacks.

The city attorney, Derry said, is working on an amendment to the city’s rent control ordinance that will allow apartment building owners to pass on 50% of water penalties to residents. He acknowledged that the plan may be unfair to those who are billed for overuse by other building occupants.

“There’s no way to know which tenants are and are not conserving, and so they’re all going to bear the brunt of any penalties,” he said.

“I believe we can all conserve 15% rather easily,” Gage said. He suggested turning off the tap while shaving and brushing teeth, and washing dishes and laundry in full loads.

The Bradley plan is virtually identical to the one imposed in 1977, when the 10% cutbacks produced conservation of 15% to 20%, according to the DWP.

City officials said that the proposed conservation measures should produce sufficient water savings to meet goals set by the Metropolitan Water District, from which the city receives 65% of its water. The MWD has asked its member agencies throughout Southern California to reduce their consumption by 17% and is considering asking for a 31% reduction.

At present, Phase 1 of Los Angeles’ Emergency Water Conservation Plan is in effect.

The regulations ban lawn and garden watering between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. and set escalating fines of $50 to $150 for repeated violations. The ban has a major loophole: It does not apply to professional gardeners.

Fines also may be imposed for hosing sidewalks, driveways and parking lots; failure to repair leaks; allowing water to flow into gutters; and serving water to restaurant customers who do not request it.

For repeated violations, the DWP may restrict the flow of water to a home or business or cut off the supply entirely.

Most wasteful practices have been banned since April, 1988.

Gage said that the DWP does not plan to beef up its “drought-busters” program adopted eight months ago. The new proposed financial penalties should be more effective than sending inspectors into the field each day to look for water wasters, he said.

PROPOSED WATER RATIONING PLAN

Key points of Mayor Tom Bradley’s water rationing plan:

Takes effect: March 1

Cutbacks required: 10% beginning March 1 and 15% beginning May 1

Penalty for first violation: $3 per billing unit of excess use, plus 15% of total water bill. A billing unit is 748 gallons.

Penalty for second violation: $3 per excess billing unit, plus 25% of the bill.

Penalty for third violation: $4 per excess billing unit, plus 75% of the bill.

LOS ANGELES AQUEDUCT DELIVERIES

Mayor Tom Bradley and City Council leaders called Friday for mandatory water rationing for Los Angeles’s 3.5 million residents because the city’s water supply is at its lowest point in history. The eastern Sierra snowpack, which usually provides the city with 70% of its water via the Los Angeles Aqueduct, is only about 13% of normal, officials said. 1980-81: 488 1981-82: 466 1982-83: 481 1983-84: 520 1984-85: 455 1985-86: 486 1986-87: 474 1987-88: 414 1988-89: 302 1989-90: 206 1990-91: 133 Note: Measured in thousands of acre feet, based on fiscal year.