San Clemente Toughens Its Tough Rules : Rationing: Some residences will have to make do on 200 gallons a day less than the current limit. And a former mayor points accusingly to new development.

Only a year after imposing tough water restrictions because of the drought, the San Clemente City Council on Wednesday asked residents and businesses to brace for one of Southern California’s strictest water-conservation laws.

The council’s new conservation ordinance slashes most household water consumption by about 30%, limiting single-family residences to just 450 gallons a day--200 gallons less than the current limit. Restaurants also will be prohibited from serving water to customers unless they ask for it.

The five-member council voted unanimously to amend the city’s water-conservation law, already considered the toughest in drought-plagued Southern California with the exception of Santa Barbara’s. The new measure, passed as an urgency ordinance at the council’s request, is effective immediately.

“I have great faith that the citizens of San Clemente will meet the conservation requirements,” said Mayor Scott Diehl. “They’ve come through for us twice before in 1989 and 1990 and we hope they can do it again.”

The tough new measures follow restrictions imposed last year after city officials became alarmed when the level of the Tri-Cities Water District reservoir, one of the city’s main sources of water, dropped dangerously low. The new restrictions demand even greater sacrifices on residents and businesses alike.

Under the new law, the city’s allocation would range from 300 gallons per day for apartment dwellers to many times that for residents who own acre plots. In addition, residents will be allowed to water their lawns only on alternating days and only before 9 a.m. and after 6 p.m.

Customers who use more than their daily allotment will face hefty surcharges, from 50% to 150% of the normal billing rate. Because the measure is effective immediately, penalties for excess water use will show up on the next water bills.

Businesses with landscaping are also being asked to cut usage, and the city is currently working up a mandatory conservation plan for merchants, which should go before the council in September.

City officials said they were forced to adopt stiffer measures because of the ongoing water shortage in Southern California and the mandatory cutbacks required by the Metropolitan Water District, the city’s main supplier.

“We do not want to penalize people for using water,” Utilities Manager Greg Morehead said. “We just want to penalize them for wasting.”

Without the cutbacks, Morehead warned, the city would have to raise water rates for all consumers, and would face costly penalties from the MWD.

Ray Woodside, general manager of the Tri-Cities Water District, which buys water from the MWD and services San Clemente, said the city would save 43 million gallons next month if it meets the 20% reduction ordered by the MWD.

The new law is certain to affect the lifestyles of the city’s 43,000 residents and many of its businesses, whose conservation efforts accounted for a 5% decrease in water usage over the last year. Overall city water usage has risen, but officials note that is because of new development and new customers coming on line. Morehead said the city this year has already exceeded MWD’s tough new standards.

Many residents took the new measures in stride.

Ralph Robertson, a retired real estate agent who replaced his back yard grass with bricks and drought-resistant plants, said he supports the tougher measures. He said his family cut its water usage by 41% of last year’s consumption by adopting minor changes, including not letting the water run while family members brush their teeth.

Some residents acknowledged that conservation is necessary but questioned the city’s plan.

Former San Clemente Mayor Karolyn Koester noted that the city plans to issue 250 building permits, having waived a building moratorium last August.

“We’re being told to cut back while the city is going ahead and giving permission to build 250 new homes here,” Koester said. “We wonder if the city is doing all it can to police itself. Water is still flowing on the golf courses. The city has not gotten the idea that we who are here now deserve to be served first.”

Times staff writer Wendy Paulson contributed to this report.

San Clemente Water Consumption

Annual usage in acre-feet (one acre-foot equals 325,900 gallons)

July ‘86-June ‘87: 7,714

July ‘87-June ‘88: 8,271

July ‘88-June ‘89: 8,547

July ‘89-June ‘90: 9,242

July ‘90-June ‘91: 5,931

Source: City if San Clemente

SAN CLEMENTE’S NEW WATER RULES

These are the new water conservation measures in San Clemente, which will be some of the strictest measures in Orange County:

* Restaurants can serve water to customers only on request.

* Most single-family households will be limited to using 450 gallons of water a day, down from the current 650-gallon daily limit.

* For customers who use more than their allotment, the surcharge will double to $1.24 per unit of water (748 gallons).

* Residents can only water their lawns on alternate days before 9 a.m. and after 6 p.m. (A similar measure was in effect last year from June 15 to Sept. 15, but the new measure would impose the requirement throughout the year.)

* People caught violating the lawn-watering restrictions will be fined $100 on the second offense and will face a misdemeanor charge on the third violation.

Source: City of San Clemente