Patrols, fines and altered landscapes: How severe SoCal water restrictions will roll out

LOS ANGELES — More than a week after the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California announced its harshest-ever water restrictions for millions of residents across the region, several of the affected water agencies are offering a preview of how life will change throughout Southland when the rules kick in June 1.

The restrictions target areas that rely heavily or entirely on the State Water Project, a Northern California water supply that officials say is dangerously low after the state’s driest-ever start to the year. The plan was designed to achieve at least a 35% reduction in water consumption, shrinking usage to about 80 gallons per person per day, which can be done through volumetric allocations or one-day-a-week watering limitations.

MWD’s largest member agency, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, has so far offered few details about how the restrictions will be applied to their customers, but said more information will be provided in the coming days.

“Just like other affected agencies, the City of L.A. will determine how it will comply,” LADWP officials said in a statement, adding that they are gathering more information before making a recommendation to Mayor Eric Garcetti in compliance with city ordinances. “There is no doubt that a third year of drought and record dry conditions require everyone in Southern California to continue to cut back further on their water use.”

But LADWP is only one of six MWD-member agencies affected by the new rules. Some, including the San Bernardino-based Inland Empire Utilities Agency, are themselves wholesalers who are working with their own member agencies to determine the best path forward.

IEUA general manager Shivaji Deshmukh said the seven major retailers to whom they provide water are each “taking a slightly different approach because each region is different.”

“Some may be heavier when it comes to outdoor use, some may be focused on agriculture, some may be purely residential, so we don’t want to apply the same rule to each different customer when we felt we could achieve real water savings with a tailor-made approach depending on each community,” he said.

About two-thirds of IEUA’s water comes from local supplies — including recycled water and groundwater — and about one-third is purchased from the State Water Project via MWD, Deshmukh said. In all, their service area includes just under 900,000 people in areas such as Chino, Fontana and Ontario.

Given the choice between one-day-a-week watering and volumetric limits, he said, “we felt we wanted to go with the latter, because embedded in that, we can allow each retailer to do what’s best for their service area.”

Deshmukh said IEUA has also made great strides when it comes to investing in local supplies, including projects to expand wastewater treatment facilities and future plans for additional recycled water, extraction wells and conveyance infrastructure with the help of state loans and funds.

“We built our water transmission systems throughout the West on the hydrology of the past 100 years, and with things changing, we need to be adapting to that,” he said.

Per capita water use in the area — which includes use for agriculture and dairy sectors — is around 170 gallons per person per day, but residential numbers, which are tracked by each retailer, are likely lower, he said. Fines imposed by MWD for exceeded allocations will in turn be passed down to the appropriate retailers, he added.

Meanwhile, the Calleguas Municipal Water District, also a wholesaler, has taken a similar approach, but is more limited in its flexibility because virtually all of its water is from the State Water Project, with only a small fraction from the Colorado River.

“What we’re experiencing right now, this drought, is the worst drought in the history of the State Water Project and in the history of importing water to the Calleguas service area,” said resources manager Dan Drugan.