Rationing Requirement Sparks Flood of Appeals : Conservation: Las Virgenes Water District is calling for customers to cut 1991 use by an additional 27%. About 1,800 people are seeking exemptions.

In 1987, Calabasas resident Dave Clifford, concerned about his family’s high water bills, began a conservation program in his home.

The family used only one shower stall--which has a timer--to cut down on water warm-up time and so the other two showers would not need cleaning. Cold water from the shower and the sink was used to water plants. Cars went unwashed, the driveway unhosed.

In three years, Clifford, his wife and his teen-age daughter reduced their annual water usage by about 40%.

Now, Clifford wonders why he bothered.

Under a rationing plan adopted by Las Virgenes Water District in January, customers are required to reduce their 1991 water use by an additional 27%. People like Clifford, who conscientiously cut back, are therefore allotted far less water than neighbors who paid no heed to the shortage before.

“I understand that we have to conserve, but I cut back enough,” he complained recently. “Leave me alone already!”

Clifford is one of about 1,800 people in the Las Virgenes Water District--which encompasses Agoura, Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Hidden Hills and Westlake Village--who have filed applications for increased water allotments.

Gordon Padwick of Calabasas is in a similar position. When the district appealed to its customers to voluntarily conserve water last year, Padwick dutifully responded by ceasing to water his lawn, and washing clothes and dishes only when the machines were full. Now, he said, he has been forced to extreme measures to cut back an additional 27%, and he too has filed an application for an increase.

“It is unfair that I, a consistent conserver, should be allocated less than others in my neighborhood,” he said. “My guess is--having seen the water running down the street from neighbors higher up last year--they were using much more water than I was, and are probably allotted much more now.”

The applications, which ask residents and business owners to explain why they need more water, are being reviewed by a committee of four water district staff members and community volunteers.

If the committee makes a preliminary determination that the claim has merit, the home or business is audited by district staff members.

Armed with calculators, laptop computers, water-use checklists and low-flow appliances, the auditing teams carefully check a property to determine actual water needs and whether an increase is warranted.

The auditors’ report is used when the committee members make their final decision, which can then be appealed to the district’s general manager.

Committee members said they have made final decisions on about half of the applications. Of the cases they have decided, about half of the applicants have been granted increases.

But whether the requests for more water are approved or rejected, they all provide insight into the small concerns and major problems of district customers as they try to comply with the strict rationing requirement.

Horse owners and pet owners wrote that the water needs of their animals were not considered in setting their allotments.

One woman said she needed a one-month increase because her daughter is getting married in July, and 13 people will be staying with her for about 10 days. The woman fears she will not have enough water to accommodate her guests without exceeding her allotment.

Many applicants are new residents who never expected when they bought their homes that they would be asked to use no more than 73% of the previous owners’ water use.

“We are just in a horrible situation,” lamented Susan Christoff, a new resident of Agoura Hills, whose application for more water was turned down. “We feel like we have done everything we can do, and I know we are still going to be in the fine category this year.”

Christoff, her husband and their two teen-age sons bought a house that was occupied last year by a woman with two young daughters. The father had moved to Texas to start a new job, and the mother and the children spent about two weeks of each month in Texas with him.

The Christoffs must now try to get by with 73% of the amount of water used by the woman and her daughters during the year they occupied the house only half the time.

“We are four adults in the household,” Christoff said. “Those little girls’ pedal pushers compared to my 210-pound, football player son’s blue jeans is just no comparison. That’s four times the amount of laundry right there.”

At least two applicants wrote that their families of four or more had moved into homes that had been occupied by a single resident, and that it was impossible for them to live within those limits.

Dorri Walters Appley of Westlake Village calculated that she and her new husband--both newly retired--were out of town 78 days last year--spread out over the course of the year. Therefore, she reasoned, their 1990 water usage was unnaturally low and should not be used as the base to determine their current allotment.

Harry and Susan Cook of Agoura Hills said they needed an increase for just one billing period--to give their house a thorough cleaning.

During last December’s cold snap while the family was away on vacation, their water pipes burst--leaking water, dust and grime from their attic, and ceiling insulation throughout the house.

Their home was evacuated, and the family of four lived in a hotel for four months while the ceiling was rebuilt and the pipes refitted. The Cooks have since returned home, and Susan Cook said she still needs more water so she can “bring her house into a sanitary living condition.”

Her application was turned down, and she said she plans to appeal. “I thought ours was a pretty legitimate request,” she said.

Committee members said several people have written to the district saying that they need a large quantity of water for health reasons.

A man wrote that his young son is severely asthmatic and that they must keep the house free of dust. An elderly woman who suffers from debilitating arthritis requires two special baths each day to remain mobile.

Some business owners, such as Tina Stawick, have applied for exemptions from the water cutbacks, saying their business has increased as a trickle-down effect from the drought.

Stawick operates the Agoura Meadows Coin Laundry in Agoura Hills. She said she has seen a boom in business as residents turn to the Laundromat rather than use the washing machines in their own homes.

“It’s given people that have never thought about using a coin laundry an incentive to go ahead and use it,” Stawick said. “A lot of people have a stigma about a coin laundry--they think it’s not clean or that its only for poor people that can’t afford a washer and dryer. But now instead of using water to wash, they’ll bring their laundry here and use the water to save their landscaping.”

District water auditors found that if the coin laundry washers are fully loaded, they use less water than a home machine would consume to clean the same amount of clothing, and the committee ruled that the business should not be subject to the rationing limits.

Committee members also granted exceptions to a doctor, dentist and veterinarian, who all said they had low-flow appliances but could not further reduce water use in their offices because of sanitary considerations.

“These are the things you don’t think of when you establish a rationing program,” said Ane Deister, a conservation specialist with the water district.

While waiting for word on their application, the Cliffords have adopted even more stringent measures to ensure that they do not exceed their allotment at home. The family now eats off paper plates, and Clifford and his daughter shower at the gym whenever possible.

“We are creating a lot more waste in the landfill trying to save the water,” he said. “It’s a Catch-22.”