Another Major Storm Is Expected Today : Weather: Although the drought has been declared over locally, five area cities dependent on Northern California reservoirs still face water-supply problems, officials say.

Following close on the heels of a drought-busting storm early this week, a new weather front is expected to roll in today with more rain, a forecaster said Tuesday.

But although a National Weather Service meteorologist declared the drought over in Ventura County, officials were warning that some cities still face water-supply problems caused by six years of below-normal rainfall.

“We’re not prepared to call this over by any means,” said Michael Kleinbrodt, deputy director of public works in Simi Valley.

The new storm will swing in from the north and dump one to two inches of rain before it clears up Friday, said Terry Schaeffer, the National Weather Service meteorologist.

“Anything over a half-inch is a pretty good storm, and this looks like a pretty good storm,” he said.

The last two-day storm, which began Sunday, dumped nearly two inches of rain in many parts of Ventura County.

The soggiest areas were Simi Valley, which was drenched with 2.64 inches, and Piru, which got 2.46 inches.

Farmers have benefited tremendously from the rain, Schaeffer said.

Underground basins are rising, as are water levels at Lake Piru and Lake Casitas.

“From an agricultural standpoint, a drought is a prolonged period of less-than-normal rainfall, and we haven’t had that lately,” he said. “This year has been a real blessing.”

Despite the rosy pronouncement, officials in five Ventura County cities said the end of the drought locally is of little help to them because they import their water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, Oxnard and Camarillo get water from the MWD through the Calleguas Municipal Water District.

MWD draws its water from reservoirs in Northern California, which has not received nearly as much rain recently as Southern California.

Last year, the five cities adopted restrictions aimed at forcing customers to trim consumption after Calleguas announced that it would not receive its full share of water from the MWD.

Thousand Oaks and Oxnard require customers to curb water use or face penalties on their water bills.

In Simi Valley, Camarillo and Moorpark, water officials adopted a billing system that charges residents higher rates as their consumption increases.

Officials said they cannot lift restrictions on water use unless the MWD announces an improvement at state reservoirs in Northern California. Water levels at two reservoirs that supply water to Southern California are still far below normal, MWD spokesman Lee Gottlieb said.

“I know it’s hard for people to believe. But the drought is very much on up there,” he said.

Officials in cities supplied by the MWD agreed. Donald Nelson, utilities director in Thousand Oaks, said he believes that the restrictions will remain even if more rain comes in the next few months.

“I’d be surprised if we see conservation measures end in their entirety,” Nelson said.

Moorpark Mayor Paul Lawrason said most city residents have willingly participated in voluntary restrictions on water use.

He said he believes that city water customers could easily live with continued conservation.

“Nothing will ever convince me that we don’t need to conserve,” he said. “We need to keep something in place that reminds the public that there is not an unlimited amount of water.”

In the western part of the county, only the city of Ventura has indicated that restrictions imposed two years ago might be eased.

But John Johnson, general manager of the Casitas Municipal Water District, which provides water for 60,000 people in Ventura and Ojai, was also wary of calling the drought over.

“Our view is that we could still well be in a longer-term drought cycle,” he said. “We could still go dry no matter how much rain we’ve had so far.”

* SANTA BARBARA LIFTS RESTRICTIONS: A14

County Rainfall

Here are rain statistics for the latest two-day storm as of 8 a.m. Tuesday from the Ventura County Flood Control District. Oct. 1 is the start of the official rain year.

Rainfall Rainfall Normal rainfall Location storm total since Oct. 1 to date Camarillo 1.15 14.58 9.80 Casitas Dam 0.94 23.84 17.43 El Rio 1.01 15.55 11.16 Fillmore 1.90 20.92 14.11 Moorpark 1.31 16.97 10.70 Ojai 1.33 22.41 15.79 Upper Ojai 1.42 27.21 17.15 Oxnard 0.94 15.27 10.76 Piru 2.46 21.01 12.56 Port Hueneme 0.59 14.90 10.53 Santa Paula 1.84 21.44 13.24 Simi Valley 2.64 19.79 10.37 Thousand Oaks 1.92 19.78 11.21 Ventura Govt. Center 1.01 16.17 11.91