Glendale’s water saving levels drop in December

Glendale fell short of its monthly water conservation goal in December — for the second straight month — but it is still meeting a long-term target set by the state.

Glendale’s monthly goal, established by California’s Water Control Board, is 20%.

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Residents used 15.9% less water in December than they did during the same month in 2013, according to a presentation at the Glendale Water & Power Commission on Monday.

November saw a 16.4% conservation rate, while conservation was as high as 27.4% during the summer months when consumption levels are highest because of the heat. Because consumption is higher in June, July and August, there is more room for savings, said Michael De Ghetto, the utility’s assistant general manager.

When factoring in the city’s water conservation ordinance that was passed last year, savings add up quickly, he said.

The ordinance made several conservation mandates such as reducing the number of days residents can water their lawn from three to two and prohibiting turning on sprinklers for at least 48 hours after a rainfall.

“With that two-day-a-week watering, we get some bigger impacts,” De Ghetto said.

In response to an ongoing drought, Gov. Jerry Brown required last year that that all cities have to cut back on water usage by this month, but that deadline has been extended through October.

Despite falling short in December, Glendale’s cumulative savings is at 22.8%, above the 20% cumulative target set by the state.

De Ghetto also said higher precipitation this winter has led to more water in the Verdugo basin, from where the city pumps some of its water.

However, he pointed out that’s just for this year, and utility commission chair Matthew Hale agreed.

“If we backslide on conservation, it’s going to take that much longer to replenish that storage,” he said.

When it came to enforcement in December, 79 residents were given first warnings for watering more than the two-day allowance, De Ghetto said. Twelve received second warnings and 11 got third warnings.

The city ended up issuing 13 citations and fines in December.

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Arin Mikailian, arin.mikailian@latimes.com

Twitter: @ArinMikailian