Approval Likely for 15% Cut in Water Use : Oxnard: Residents would be limited to 85 gallons a day per person. The council last month rejected ordinances requiring 20% and 30% cutbacks.

The Oxnard City Council is expected to adopt a rationing program today that would reduce the city’s water consumption by 15%, making it the last large city in Ventura County to institute restrictions on water use.

To achieve the overall cutback, council members have said they will approve a program under which residents would be limited to 85 gallons a day per person. Each house or building would receive an additional 57 gallons a day for landscaping. Apartment and condominium complexes with more than one building would receive 15 extra gallons per day for each additional building.

Each business, industrial and agricultural customer would be required to cut 15% from the previous year.

The latest water-rationing plan comes after several weeks of deliberations by the council, during which members balked at adopting more restrictive programs. Last month, the council turned down ordinances requiring 20% and 30% cutbacks, but the March rains eased drought conditions and city officials are now confident that 15% will do.

“Our water shortage is still serious, but it’s not as urgent as it was a month ago,” said Public Works Director James Frandzen. “If we continue to conserve and we implement this program, we’ll do OK.”

Despite being the county’s largest city, Oxnard is the only city in the county with more than 25,000 residents that has yet to adopt a water-rationing plan.

Only Fillmore, Santa Paula, Ojai and Port Hueneme have no plans to institute mandatory water rationing. But these cities pump all or most of their water from the ground. Oxnard, like most of the county’s larger cities, relies heavily on imported water.

The conservation program to be considered today was prompted by Calleguas Municipal Water District’s order that the cities it services cut residential water use by 20% and agricultural use by 50% from the previous year. Calleguas, which receives its water from state and federal aqueducts, supplies two-thirds of Oxnard’s water. The remaining third comes from city water wells.

Oxnard, with the lowest per-capita water use in the county, plans to make up the difference between what it would require and what Calleguas is requiring by relying on its ground-water supplies.

Ventura, which relies heavily on river and lake water, became the first city to adopt a rationing plan last April, imposing a quota system of 294 gallons per day for houses and 196 gallons a day for apartments. In the past year, Ventura has reduced consumption by 25%.

Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Camarillo and Moorpark, all of which rely heavily on Calleguas water, followed suit when Calleguas announced its cutback plan.

Thousand Oaks imposed a water-rationing plan aimed at reducing consumption by 20% for residential and agricultural users. Moorpark, Simi Valley and Camarillo also adopted plans calling for a 20% reduction in residential use. But their plans call for agricultural use to be cut by 50%.

If cities fail to meet Calleguas’ mandate, they will be fined $394 for every additional acre-foot of water. If they stay below their allocation, they will receive a $99 rebate for every acre-foot they save. One acre-foot typically serves the yearly needs of two families of four, water authorities say.

In February, Oxnard received a $10,000 rebate for not exhausting its water allotment from Calleguas. City officials said they expect another comparable rebate for March. The heavy rainfall allowed the city to cut water use by 29% compared with the same month in 1990.