Increase in water demand worries district

Janine Marnien

LA CRESCENTA -- Voluntary conservation will be on tap when the

Crescenta Valley Water District meets Wednesday.

Rainfall and the amount of water available for import have gone down

while overall demand has increased about 50% since 1991, according to

water district General Manager Mike Sovich.

“We may be in a stretch this summer,” Sovich said. “We’re asking

everyone to conserve.”

The district will consider a plan emphasizing basic conservation tips

among water customers. Among them are encouraging residents to avoid

hosing down their driveways, turn off faucets when shaving or brushing

teeth and take shorter showers.

“A large part of water is used in landscaping,” Sovich said. “We’d

really like people to cut back on their outside water usage.”

Four consecutive years of low rainfall and a 10% to 20% decrease in

well water supply has board members worried.

“There are constraints on how much water we can import, and the last

several summers we’ve already maxed out what we can get,” Sovich said.

“Demand has increased but the amount we can import is staying constant.”

If adopted, the policy will ask for a 25% reduction in water from

customers.

“That’s probably a lofty goal, but we feel we should ask for it

anyway,” Sovich said. “Even if we got a 10% to 15% reduction we’d be in

good shape.”