Water Plan to Be Topic of Hearings

A proposed plan that addresses how Los Angeles would cope with water supply cutbacks of up to 50% because of the drought will be the subject of public hearings next week in Van Nuys and Los Angeles.

The plan, prepared by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, is mandated by a recent state law requiring water utilities to show what they would do if their water supplies were cut by as much as half.

Now in draft form, the plan incorporates the city’s current water conservation ordinance, which provides for mandatory cutbacks in water use of up to 25%. To meet the state requirement, the draft calls for amending the ordinance to deal with supply curtailments of 30% to 50%.

City residents are currently under the third phase of the existing ordinance, which imposes surcharges on customers who fail to achieve a 15% reduction in water use compared to the base year of 1986. The existing ordinance also includes fourth and fifth phases, in which customers would be required to achieve savings of 20% and 25%, respectively.

The proposed ordinance amendment, which would require approval by the Los Angeles City Council, would add sixth, seventh and eighth phases--corresponding to cutbacks of 30%, 40% and 50%.

Since last spring, DWP customers have exceeded the phase three cutbacks, achieving water savings of 20% to 25%, according to the draft plan. If this performance continues and supply forecasts hold up, there will be no need to raise conservation levels.

The Los Angeles hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. Monday in Room 1555H of DWP headquarters at 111 N. Hope St.

The Van Nuys hearing is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Van Nuys Woman’s Club, 14836 Sylvan St. Written comments on the draft plan will also be accepted through Feb. 11, DWP officials said.

The plan is available for review at several branch libraries, including 5211 Tujunga Ave. in North Hollywood and 19036 Vanowen St. in Reseda.