ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : On Water: Laguna Needs Answers

As Laguna Beach tries to cope with the devastation of the wildfire three weeks ago, the problems it faces and the questions it must answer are as stark as charred hillside. The most obvious problem is minimizing chances of another firestorm, and that raises the questions of whether the flawed water system can be fixed and how much it would cost.

The Times has reported on city records that show that hundreds of homes burned to the ground not because the city’s reservoirs ran dry, but because the fire was so widespread and moved so quickly that the water system could not maintain pressure and shift supplies to where they were needed. The city must start by determining the cost of preventing that from happening again.

The Laguna Beach County Water District operates 22 reservoirs in the city. Only four of those ran dry as fire raged; 15 others remained half-full or better. One glitch that must be corrected was a computer breakdown that prevented district engineers from learning how much water was in the reservoirs. When the computer resumed functioning, engineers were stunned to see that three reservoirs had apparently been drained.

Fire experts explained that the city’s water-delivery system was designed to fight one or two house fires at a time. But the risk of a larger fire has been clear for years. County fire officials had warned of the need for controlled burns of brush along Laguna Canyon Road. The climatic conditions had not been right, however, and the burns were not carried out because of a dispute over their environmental effect. Also, the city must decide if it wants to institute more firebreaks and widen streets, which would make it easier for firefighting equipment to get to blazes.

The council, after debating for years, did vote early Wednesday morning for a 3-million-gallon reservoir, if certain conditions are met. The water district has the money and proposed it mostly as an emergency supply in the event of an earthquake. It can be used to fight fires, of course, but the city must ensure that it finds out how to get water from the point of storage to the point where it is needed. Another reservoir filled with water that cannot be tapped will do no one any good.

The quarrel between the water district and reservoir opponents who feared its effect on the environment should never have been allowed to go on for so long. But the council vote shows a welcome willingness now to make decisions. Haste is unwise, but avoidable delay is intolerable. Laguna Beach deserves answers and action.