Water Usage Cut by 15% in April but Officials Call for More Savings

Water consumption in Long Beach and the Southeast area in April dropped about 15% below April, 1990, levels, but water district officials are calling for stepped-up conservation to meet their monthly goals as summer nears.

They are trying to forestall the consumption of massive amounts of water and reduce the level of usage by 20% as temperatures rise and residents quench the thirst of wilting lawns or fill pools. “We need to be very water-wise, particularly now that we are going into June and July,” said Richard Atwater, general manager of the Central Basin Municipal Water District.

The greatest savings were logged by the Lynwood Water Department, which distributed about 32% less water to customers in April than during the same month last year, according to statistics released recently by the Central Basin Municipal Water and Replenishment districts.

The city water departments and independent 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 districts sell the MWD water locally and monitor the amount of ground water pumped throughout the area.

Now that the drought is in its fifth year, Central Basin officials have urged users to reduce their monthly consumption of water by 20% from last year.

With its heavy rains, March did not present much of a conservation challenge. Long Beach and the Southeast area reduced consumption in March by about 25% compared to March, 1990, according to the districts’ report.

But April, with its drier weather, tested local conservation programs.

Generally, area cities and water companies with mandatory water conservation programs posted some of the largest water savings in April. Those mandatory programs include rationing and surcharges for excessive use.

None of the area’s municipal water departments or major water companies reported increased water use in April.

Nevertheless, some of their customers were hit with surcharges for the first time last month. Local water officials are hopeful that the penalties will spur conservation.

The Long Beach Water Department dispenses more water than any city or private water company in the area. Customers of the Long Beach Water Department reduced their water use by 18.3% in April compared to the same month last year.

“We’re pleased at the results and hope it continues this summer,” said Dan Davis, general manager of the Long Beach Water Department.

But some Long Beach customers felt the sting of the city’s mandatory conservation program, which took effect March 29. So far, residential, business and industrial customers in Long Beach have been penalized $928,000 for using too much water, said John Hough, a water department spokesman.

Long Beach’s conservation program limits a single-family home to 325 gallons of water a day. Other limits apply to apartments, business and industry. Long Beach customers who use more than their allocation are billed at three times the normal rate for the excess water used.

The residents of one home, for example, paid a $113 penalty for using about four times as much water as they were allotted during a one-month billing period, Hough said. Their water bill was $200 instead of the $87 they would have paid if rationing had not been in effect, he said.

City water officials say the surcharges will offset declining revenues due to conservation. Revenue from the surcharges also will be used to pay for future conservation measures.

Only Long Beach’s commercial customers failed to cut their overall daily water use in April compared to last year. Davis said he was not sure of the reason.

Water consumption dropped 30.3% in Cerritos, another city with a mandatory water conservation ordinance. Cerritos began limiting residential customers to 375 gallons per day last February. Restrictions were applied to commercial and industrial customers as well.

Cerritos Water Supt. Ron Babel said the first bills with penalties for excessive use would probably be sent out this week. He believes the threat of penalties played at least a partial role in the conservation.

“I think some people need to know if they don’t conserve they’re going to end up paying more for water,” Babel said.

Water consumption dropped 26% in Lakewood.

“It did warm up a little bit in April and we saw that people did not go back to their old habits,” Lakewood Water Supt. Jim Glancy said.

Lakewood has a mandatory conservation program that limits water usage to 337 gallons a day for single-family homes. Similar restrictions apply to business and industry.

Some Lakewood water customers have had to pay surcharges for using too much, but Glancy said he did not know the amount of those surcharges.

Other cities with mandatory rationing posted more modest gains.

The Santa Fe Springs Water Department showed an 8.8% decrease in water usage in April compared to April, 1990. The city began requiring most of its water customers to cut back usage by 10% last March. But the largely industrial city has granted exemptions to some industrial customers so they can maintain production levels, said M. Aziz, assistant director of public works.

Santa Fe Springs levied its first surcharges in May. A city spokesman said he did not know the amount of those surcharges.

Ironically, Lynwood achieved its large savings without a mandatory conservation program.

Lynwood officials, who have urged local residents, business and industry to cut back voluntarily, were at a loss to explain the dramatic result.

They speculated that water consumption may have been unusually high last year because of water used during key stages of construction of the Century Freeway. They also said the city is using less water on public landscaping.

“Lynwood’s voluntary program seems to be working, but one month doesn’t mean much,” Public Works Director Emilio Murga said.

Other cities without mandatory conservation measures were not so successful.

The Paramount Water Department distributed 3.2% less water in April than it did in April, 1990.

City Manager Patrick West said he wants to track consumption in the next couple of months before making a recommendation to the City Council on whether to impose a mandatory conservation program.

Water Usage in April Following are water-use figures for the 15 biggest users among the municipal water departments and private water companies in the Southeast and Long Beach area. Amounts are in acre-feet. Some city water departments serve only part of the customers living within city boundaries.

April April Water supplier 1990 1991 California Water Service Co. (serves customers in parts of Commerce and Montebello) 1,860 1,546 Cerritos (city water system) 959 668 Compton (city water system) 857 722 Downey (city water system) 1,341 1,077 Lakewood (city water system) 716 530 Lynwood (city water system) 656 444 Long Beach (city water system) 5,750 4,697 Huntington Park (city water system) 498 416 Paramount (city water system) 553 535 Park Water Co. (serves customers in parts of Artesia, Bellflower, Bell Gardens, Compton, Lynwood, Norwalk and Santa Fe Springs) 1,048 851 Pico Rivera (city water system) 486 415 Santa Fe Springs (city water system) 781 713 South Gate (city water system) 780 693 Southern California Water Co. (serves customers in parts of Artesia, Hawaiian Gardens, Lakewood, La Mirada, Long Beach, Norwalk, South Gate and Whittier) 2,605 2,338 Vernon (city water system) 727 684

% Water supplier saved California Water Service Co. (serves customers in parts of Commerce and Montebello) 16.9 Cerritos (city water system) 30.3 Compton (city water system) 15.8 Downey (city water system) 19.7 Lakewood (city water system) 26.0 Lynwood (city water system) 32.3 Long Beach (city water system) 18.3 Huntington Park (city water system) 16.5 Paramount (city water system) 3.3 Park Water Co. (serves customers in parts of Artesia, Bellflower, Bell Gardens, Compton, Lynwood, Norwalk and Santa Fe Springs) 18.8 Pico Rivera (city water system) 14.6 Santa Fe Springs (city water system) 8.7 South Gate (city water system) 11.2 Southern California Water Co. (serves customers in parts of Artesia, Hawaiian Gardens, Lakewood, La Mirada, Long Beach, Norwalk, South Gate and Whittier) 10.2 Vernon (city water system) 5.9

Sources: Central Basin Municipal Water and Replenishment districts. Long Beach and Compton water departments.