Record March Rains Could Have Done More : Conservation: Heavy storms allow residents and farmers to delay irrigating lawns and crops. Usage is cut about 60%.

During the wettest March on record in Ventura County, residents and farmers cut water use by an average of about 60% from the previous month by putting off irrigating lawns and crops, according to water officials.

The drop in water use was recorded by the county’s three largest water districts, which together serve almost 90% of the county’s households.

If water use dropped by the same amount in the 175 smaller water purveyors also serving the county, the total savings could be at least 20,000 acre-feet, or 6.5 million gallons.

The county consumes about 407,000 acre-feet, or 132 million gallons of water, each year. Business and industry, excluding agriculture, consume about 10% of that amount, and 20% goes to households. About half of each household’s water goes toward outdoor use, such as watering lawns and plants.

But because agriculture accounts for almost 70% of the county’s water use, farmers and ranchers saved the greatest proportion by putting off irrigation during and after a series of March storms that dumped about 14 inches of rain on Ventura and 17 inches on Ojai.

For example, officials with the United Water Conservation District said one small pipeline that serves mostly farmers in the Oxnard Plain recorded a drop of about 95% between February and March.

In February, the district pumped about 590 acre-feet of water through the pipeline. During March, that amount dropped to 31 acre-feet.

Officials point out, however, that farmers get most of their water from wells, and no figures were available on how well water was used.

Rex Laird, executive director of the Ventura County Farm Bureau, said farmers of ground crops--such as strawberries and lettuce--have already returned to regular irrigating schedules.

But he said most farmers of tree crops, such as citrus and avocados, have not had to resume regular irrigation schedules because of last month’s drenching.

While crops vary in the amount of water that they need, Laird said most tree crops should begin getting regular irrigation by next month. He said farmers may return to their irrigation schedules sooner if the weather remains warm and dry.

“The trick is to maximize efficiency and meet the needs,” Laird said.

He said some residents may have been startled to see farmers irrigating crops during the heavy rains. But some farmers did this to make sure that the crops got enough water at the root level.

“It’s often confusing to non-farmers to see sprinklers during the rain,” he said. “They don’t understand that some plants need water to certain depths.”

Because water in the county comes through 178 water districts and purveyors and hundreds of wells, officials said, it is difficult to gauge exactly how much water was saved because of the storms.

However, a good indicator are the amounts provided by the Calleguas Municipal Water District, which serves about two-thirds of the county’s population.

In March, demand for Calleguas water dropped to about 55% of that used in the previous month. It was about 45% of the water used in March a year ago.

Calleguas supplies water from the Metropolitan Water District to 450,000 people in Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley and in areas of Moorpark, Camarillo and Oxnard.

“Water use in March dropped way down because it rained most of the month,” said James Hubert, Calleguas manager.

During that month, the district supplied 3,623 acre-feet of water, compared to 6,243 acre-feet during the previous month. In March, 1990, the district supplied 7,852 acre-feet of water, he said.

The Casitas Municipal Water District, which serves about 55,000 residents and 250 farmers in Ventura and the Ojai Valley, pumped about 370 acre-feet from Lake Casitas during March, a drop of almost 70% from the 1,284 acre-feet that were pumped in February.

Lake Casitas is the sole source of water for the Casitas water district.

The United Water Conservation District replenishes ground water used by farmers and ranchers in the Oxnard Plain and by households in Oxnard, Port Hueneme, and the Navy bases at Port Hueneme and Point Mugu.

Water services to those cities dropped by only 15% between February and March, or from 824 acre-feet to 720 acre-feet, said Jim Gross, the district’s water resource manager.