Huntington Park Gets Highest Penalty Among 4 Water Agencies

The Huntington Park Water Department and three other water agencies in the Southeast and Long Beach area were penalized for using too much imported water during April.

Municipal water departments and private water companies obtain water for their customers primarily from wells and from the Metropolitan Water District, which imports water from Northern California and the Colorado River. The Central Basin Municipal Water District sells the MWD water locally.

Huntington Park was penalized $13,868 for using too much MWD water in April, while the Montebello Water Department received a $2,206 penalty, according to the Central Basin District.

The Central Basin District hit the Maywood Mutual Water Co. No. 2, which serves parts of Maywood and Huntington Park, with a $749 penalty. The Lakewood Water Department was penalized $197.

Because of the drought, the MWD and the Central Basin have required water departments and companies to cut back their usage of imported water by 20% to 50% or face penalties. They started imposing those penalties in February.

In many cases, water companies and departments reduced purchases of imported water and boosted their pumping of ground water to avoid penalties. The four water agencies that were penalized consumed too much imported water but reduced their overall water usage in April.

Huntington Park is the only local water agency to be penalized in February, March and April.

The city began cutting back its purchases of MWD water in late April, said Neil Poole, director of field services.

“For the month of May we should be well below the target,” Poole said.