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Water shortage means cutbacks, rate increases

Hector Becerra Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES – Responding to the state’s worsening water shortage, the Metropolitan Water District on Monday announced that it would cut water supplies to Southern California agriculture by 30 percent and that local residents can expect their bills to rise by 10 percent or more.

The moves come as Southern California is facing a cut in water supplies from Northern California and is dealing with a major drought locally.

The water district’s General Manager Jeffrey Kightlinger said that if the record dry spell continues into this winter, agencies would have to consider mandatory rationing.

“People will feel this,” he said. “We really want to see if people are willing to conserve absent rationing.”

The fate of an endangered fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is expected to lead to a federal court-imposed cutback of almost 30 percent on water supplies to Southern California, and the Colorado River is showing the effects of eight years of drought in the areas that feed it.

Southern California has entered a phase, Kightlinger said, in which – barring some major fixes and extraordinary conservation by consumers – water will be in short supply 70 percent of the time.

Kightlinger said the district will have to raise rates to water customers, such as San Diego and Long Beach, as much as 10 percent just to keep up with the cutback of water from Northern California. Cities then typically pass the rate increases to their businesses and residents – but usually at a higher rate because of other costs, he said.

So far, Long Beach has taken the most radical action on water savings. The city’s water board has prohibited residents from watering their grass during the day and limited it to three times a week. Residents cannot use hoses to clean driveways, patios, sidewalks or any other paved areas unless they use a pressurized water device.

Water officials say the city will scrutinize water bills for excessive use and create a hotline and e-mail system for residents to inform on so-called “water wasters.”