County OKs Water Cuts for Some Areas

Water conservation measures were imposed on residents of unincorporated Los Angeles County on Thursday when the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved restrictions that include a ban on daytime lawn watering and hosing pavement.

The cuts are the first phase of water conservation measures that call for more drastic rationing, expected to begin May 1. The board will hold public hearings on the rationing plan April 18. If the rationing is approved, the county will be able to require water-use cuts ranging from 10% to 50%, depending on state water supplies.

The measures, which apply to about 1 million people, also prohibit leaky plumbing, automatically serving water in restaurants, and filling decorative ponds or fountains that do not recycle water. Letters detailing the preliminary cuts were being mailed to residents Thursday.

Supervisors approved fines of up to $500 for water scofflaws who are caught by sheriff’s deputies. A county water official, however, said the fines will only be assessed in extreme cases, partly because deputies have little time to police water use.

“We feel there will be excellent compliance,” said Gary Hartley, assistant deputy director of county waterworks and sewer maintenance. “People realize the drought situation we’re in.”

Enforcement of rationing would be stricter, with escalating bill surcharges beginning at $3 for those who exceed mandated usage. The rationing would initially apply to the estimated 250,000 people who receive their water through the county’s 16 waterworks districts. The districts include portions of Topanga Canyon, the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys, Malibu and Marina del Rey.

Water companies in the rest of the county, however, have indicated they probably will impose similar restrictions, Hartley said.

Rationing would begin May 1, with a mandatory 10% cut calculated from a regional average of water use in the area for the same month in 1990. Although averages have not yet been determined, Hartley said they probably will be highest in the dry Antelope Valley.

The percentages, which could increase by increments of 5% to a maximum of 50%, would be based on the amount of water released by the State Water Project. The state supplies about half of the Metropolitan Water District’s water. The district, in turn, sells water to the county. Los Angeles County also draws water from the Colorado River and from wells scattered around the region.

If 50% cuts are ultimately required, Hartley said the county will have to take more drastic action, such as banning landscape watering.

Establishing the rationing plan will give county water officials more flexibility in future dry years, Hartley said, because they will not have to return to the board for approval of cutbacks.