Use Curbs Earn $7.3 Million for Water Agencies

Drought-plagued Southern Californians slashed use of imported water by 44% in February and March, saving billions of gallons more than their mandated conservation targets and earning rebates for their water agencies of more than $7 million.

Most of the credit, however, does not go to water-wise consumers but to an extraordinary, stormy March that dumped about 20 times more rain than in March, 1990.

In February, a much drier month, 13 of the 27 agencies in Southern California served by the Metropolitan Water District failed to meet their conservation allotments. But they made up for the overuse to such a great degree in March that it wiped out the February penalties for all but one agency.

“The $7 million reflects credits earned in a very wet month,” said Bob Gomperz, a spokesman for the huge agency that supplies imported water to six counties. “We don’t expect to have to pay those kinds of credits the rest of the year.

“As we get deeper into the warmer months, there will be some areas that won’t be able to meet their targets,” he said. “After all, we’re asking Southern California to conserve at a rate never seen before.”

Faced with five consecutive years of drought, MWD told Southern Californians to cut overall consumption of imported water by 17% in February and 31% beginning in March, compared with the same months last year. Agencies that meet their allotments earn credits from MWD, while those that fail are penalized, although the final rebates will not be meted out until the fall.

But the region actually saved much more than requested during the two months, conserving the mandated 29 billion gallons, plus an additional 24 billion gallons.

The real test, however, will come in the next six months, as residents are faced with meeting tough targets during the seasons when water consumption normally skyrockets.

“We can’t rest on our laurels,” Keith Coolidge of the Municipal Water District of Orange County, cautioned consumers. “It’s not like we have a big lead and we can rest in the middle of the race now. The summer is still going to be a tough time to get through.”

Jerry Gewe, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s manager of water resources planning, said even without the rain, the city’s residents would have conserved large amounts. He said computer models showed that residents would have saved about 22% compared to five years ago if rainfall was normal in March.

“That would more than meet our target, so we are confident our citizens will respond to the call all summer,” Gewe said. “Last year, they saved 10% all summer long, and we’ve had more time to educate them now.”

Of the $7,340,319 in credits issued to 27 agencies for the February-March period, Orange County earned about $1.75 million.

The biggest winners were Los Angeles, with a credit of slightly less than $2 million for the two months, the Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District, with $1.76 million, and the Municipal Water District of Orange County, with $1.36 million.

The only water agency that failed to meet its mandate was the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District, which racked up a $78,642 penalty for using an excess of 199 acre-feet over its two-month target. (An acre-foot is about 326,000 gallons, enough to serve an average family of five.)

Far from being the water hogs they appeared, residents of the western San Fernando Valley and Santa Monica Mountains areas served by the Las Virgenes district actually cut back water use in February by 20% and March by 60%.

But the extra water tapped by the district was used to refill its reservoir, which was nearly half empty, district spokeswoman Diane Eaton said.

Because the district relies solely on MWD water, there was concern that allowing the reservoir to drop more would create a potentially dangerous situation in fighting fires and providing water to homes, Eaton said.

Even San Diego, which was criticized by other cities for not conserving in February, got a big rebate because of large reductions in March. San Diego County’s water agency missed its February target by a large amount, but made up for it in March, receiving a credit of more than half a million dollars.

None of the districts will immediately see any rebates, because mandatory cutbacks remain in effect and residents have been asked to keep conserving at the same rate through the summer.

The tallies will be reconciled at the end of September. If any water districts still are owed rebates, they can apply them to future purchases of MWD water.

That means if Southern Californians do not keep conserving, they will probably be hit with large increases in water bills, because most agencies will pass the fines on to customers. Los Angeles, for example, will directly pass on all fines or credits to city consumers.

Many of the districts, especially in Orange and Los Angeles counties, cut their use of imported water mainly by switching to local ground-water supplies so they could use less of MWD’s scarce supply, which is imported from Northern California and the Colorado River. North Orange County cities drew as up to 80% from ground water, up from the usual 65%.

Water-poor districts such as coastal Orange County and San Diego County, which are 100% reliant on MWD’s supply, face the biggest challenge, because they cannot shift to another source.

City officials and water managers said they are eager to see April results. With those in hand, they will have a clearer picture of how well residents are doing in a warm, dry month, and they can see which Southern California communities are doing poorly so they can blitz them with campaigns.

“April will be a really critical month. We’ll see if we can meet the targets then,” said Mary Barbas, secretary and treasurer of the Coastal Municipal Water District, which serves coastal areas of Orange County from Newport Beach south.

“There is genuine concern, and I think people will cooperate, but to what extent, who knows? Conservation might taper off as it gets hotter and hotter and people don’t want to see brown landscapes, especially in areas with expensive homes,” she said.

The Sierra snowpack and runoff captured by reservoirs are still far below normal, despite the March storms.

“One month will not mitigate the previous four dry years,” said Gomperz, MWD’s spokesman. “It could be March was the oddball in this whole set, and we’re still very much in the drought.”

Each district within Southern California has a different conservation goal, based on how much water is used for city purposes and how much for agriculture or replenishment of ground water. Most urban districts have a mandate to cut use by 20%.

The agency that serves most of Orange County, the Municipal Water District, is passing its credits on to its member agencies and cities, based on how well they met their targets.

The biggest credit in Orange County went to the Irvine Ranch Water District, a large agency that reaped $494,574 for the two-month period. Just two agencies within the large County Municipal Water District will pay fines: East Orange, which owes $2,758, and Santa Ana Heights, which owes $78.

Times staff writer Amy Pyle contributed to this report.

CREDITS AND FINES This is a breakdown of the credits and fines assessed agencies within the Municipal Water District of Orange County. Just two agencies, which did not meet their combined February and March conservation targets, will pay fines, both small amounts. South County districts (generally from Newport Beach south) received a $36,699 credit, but that total has not yet been broken down into separate cities or districts. District Brea Water Department Serves Parts of Brea Credit $23,869 District Buena Park Water Department Serves Buena Park Credit $11,939 District Capistrano Valley Water District Serves San Juan Capistrano and parts of Dana Point Credit $3,367 District East Orange County Water District Serves Parts of Orange and Tustin and nearby unincorporated areas Credit *-$2,758 District El Toro Water District Serves Parts of El Toro, Mission Viejo and Laguna Hills Credit $11,157 District Fountain Valley Water Department Serves Fountain Valley Credit $9,890 District Garden Grove Water Department Serves Garden Grove Credit $45,322 District Huntington Beach Water Department Serves Huntington Beach and Sunset Beach Credit $69,903 District Irvine Ranch Water District Serves Irvine, parts of Newport Beach and Tustin, and some nearby unincorporated areas Credit $494,574 District La Habra Water Department Serves La Habra Credit $27,462 District La Palma Water Department Serves La Palma Credit $871 District Los Alisos Water District Serves Lake Forest, parts of El Toro and the Pinada foothills Credit $13,998 District Mesa Consolidated Water District Serves Parts of Costa Mesa and Newport Beach Credit $56,113 District Moulton Niguel Water District Serves Parts of Dana Point, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Aliso Viejo and Mission Viejo Credit $39,976 District Orange Water Department Serves Parts of Orange Credit $18,621 District Orange County Water District Serves Replenishes ground water basin underlying North County Credit $361,092 District Santa Ana Heights Water District Serves Santa Ana Heights area and parts of southeastern Costa Mesa Credit *-$78 District Santa Margarita Water District Serves Parts of Mission Viejo (all areas east of Marguerite Parkway), Cota de Caza and Rancho Santa Margarita Credit $36,758 District Serrano Irrigation District Serves Villa Park and parts of Orange Credit $861 District Southern California Water Co. Serves Serves Cypress, Los Alamitos, Rossmoor, Stanton, parts of Placentia, Atwood, parts of Yorba Linda and Cowan Heights Credit $37,328 District Trabuco Canyon Water District Serves Trabuco Canyon, the Robinson Ranch, Rancho Cielo, Dove Canyon and M.J. Brock developments and parts of Portola Hills Credit $30,561 District Westminster Water Department Serves Westminster Credit $2,346 District Yorba Linda Water District Serves Parts of Brea, Placentia, Yorba Linda and Anaheim Hills Credit $48,232 * Penalty Source: Municipal Water District of Orange County

CONSERVATION TARGETS

T wenty-seven agencies or cities in the six counties of Southern California received imported water from the Metropolitan Water District in February and March. Each was asked to cut overall use by 17% beginning in February and 31% in March.

Those that complied with their targets were paid credits, while those that failed faced penalties. Because of March rainfall, all but one district cut consumption enough to receive rebates, which totaled more than $7 million.

The monthly credits and penalties will be totaled at the end of September, and any remaining credits can be applied toward future water purchases. (An acre-foot is about 326,000 gallons.)

Consumption vs. Target (in acre-feet) District February March Credit Municipal Water District of Orange County -2,462 -11,307 +$1,363,131 (most of the county) Anaheim -884 -508 +$137,818 Santa Ana -965 -432 +$138,313 Fullerton -20 -855 +$86,585 Coastal Municipal Water District of Orange +161 -531 +$36,699 County (South County) Las Virgenes Municipal Water District (Western +439 -240 *-$78,642 L.A. County, San Fernando Valley) Los -3,139 -17,044 +$1,998,117 Angeles DWP Beverly Hills +99 -138 +$3,841 Burbank +22 -415 +$38,887 Calleguas Municipal Water District (Ventura +871 -3,318 +$242,233 County) Central Basin Municipal Water District (Southeastern +1,144 -4,388 +$321,176 L.A. County) Chino Basin +583 -1,237 +$64,746 Municipal Water District Compton -144 -72 +$21,344 Eastern Municipal Water District (Eastern +364 -2,323 +$193,991 Riverside County) Foothill Municipal Water District (L.A. County north +57 -335 +$27,492 of Pasadena and Glendale) Glendale -162 -736 +$88,922 Long Beach -67 At +$6,643 Pasadena +677 -1,082 +$40,095 San Diego +12,347 -18,199 +$579,348 County Water Authority San Marino -54 -38 +$9,118 San Fernando 0 0 none Santa Monica -49 -148 +$19,434 Three Valleys Municipal Water District (Eastern +342 -1,304 +$95,268 L.A. County) Torrance -4 -349 +$34,947 Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District -10,494 -7,308 +$1,762,408 West Basin Municipal Water District (South Bay, +196 -745 +$54,400 Malibu, Palos Verdes areas) Western Municipal Water District (Western +1,044 -1,590 +$54,005 Riverside County) Total -98 -74,641 +$7,340,319 for Southern California

* Penalty

Source: Metropolitan Water District Southern California