The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday postponed a vote on a conservation plan under which customers would face tripled charges for some of the water they use if they fail to meet targeted consumption cuts during the state’s drought.
All customers of the Los Angeles County Waterworks Districts and the Marina del Rey Water System are being asked to cut back, though those hardest hit are residents of areas with the highest per capital water use.
County customers in Marina del Rey, Kagel Canyon, Val Verde and Acton — districts with less than 3,000 customers — are being asked only to comply with rules that limit outdoor irrigation to two days per week, as dictated by a statewide plan.
Residents of Malibu and Topanga Canyon are being asked to cut back water use by 36 percent on average and Antelope Valley residents are subject to a 32 percent cut, using a 2013 baseline.
“A big chunk of the customers already meet the allocations,” Department of Public Works representative Adam Ariki told the board.
Many Antelope Valley residents disagreed, saying the targets they were set would be impossible to reach.
One Palmdale resident who said she has a half-acre lot, nearly half of which has been converted to hardscape, said she is being asked to cut her water use by more than 70 percent.
“You’ve got a math error somewhere; check your numbers,” Shirley Kohl told the board.
Two Malibu City Council members have said they worry that the hikes will disproportionately hurt people who have been conserving for years, in an area where an estimated 1,200 customers show “extremely outrageous water waste (that) is skewing the numbers.”
In an open letter published in the Malibu Times last week, Malibu Mayor Pro Tem Laura Zahn Rosenthal and Councilman Skylar Peak asked for “a workable and fair conservation plan that would call for extreme cutbacks for the highest water users, moderate cutbacks for the average user and minimal cutbacks for those who already conserve water.”
If the conservation plan is approved without changes, surcharges of 100 to 200 percent would be incurred by county water district customers who fail to meet set targets. Water used in excess of the target and up to 115 percent of the target would be hit with a 100 percent surcharge. Any additional water used would carry a 200 percent surcharge.
Supervisor Sheila Kuehl pointed out that other water districts were making similar moves to meet the state’s goal of reducing urban water use by 25 percent.
Antonovich called for the delay, saying he wanted the department to respond to residents’ complaints about miscalculations and unrealistic targets.
“We can’t be a responsible body unless we know the facts,” Antonovich said.
The matter is expected to be heard next Tuesday.
At Supervisor Don Knabe’s recommendation, the board also directed staffers to develop additional programs to support residents’ conservation efforts.
— City News Service