The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to enact new residential water conservation standards around L.A. on Tuesday afternoon, with the strictest of the standards implemented in Malibu and Topanga’s Water District 29.
Those who go over their targets could be paying up to double the standard cost per extra unit (100 cubic feet of water, 748 gallons) in the first year of the new policy, with that amount increasing to triple the standard amount if the mandatory cutbacks continue for longer than 12 months.
Most residents will be forced to conform to a district-wide standard for water use, regardless of household size, lot size or other factors.
In other words, each household is asked to hit the same target, based on numbers from use in the district in 2013. The average 2013 use in the district is then decreased by its cutback goal and each family is asked to only use that much.
Malibu and Topanga’s cutback goal is 36 percent, so those who were already conserving more than their neighbors may not have to cut back at all, while those who have been using more water than average could be looking at a mandatory cutback of upwards of 80%, to hit the same target water use.
Lots with meters one-inch or larger, such as multi-unit residential buildings, face a different cutback standard based on their own water use from 2013.
“The purpose for using the average method is to recognize water conservation efforts,” Gary Hildebrand, Deputy Director of Water Resources for L.A. County Public Works, told Supervisors.
The new policy is a result of Governor Jerry Brown’s April mandate that the state decrease its cumulative water use by 25 percent.
Hildebrand pointed out that the mandatory restrictions will not affect many in Malibu.
“Forty-six percent of customers are already at or below the target allocation [in District 29],” Hildebrand told Supervisors.
The so-called “average method” used to determine water allocations had members of the public from around L.A. County balking at their bills, some of which demand extreme decreases of water use in households that contain six or eight members, far above the average.
Hildebrand said there is a process in place to account for those customers.
“[The] appeal process is included in the phased water conservation plan,” Hildebrand explained. “The district will provide a customer with a decision on their appeal within 20 days.”
Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, whose jurisdiction includes Malibu and Topanga, proposed an amendment guaranteeing additional staffers to take on what is predicted to be a sizable number of appeals.
“In order to support this robust appellate process, I wonder if we might need to add some staff temporarily to hear appeals,” Kuehl suggested.
Kuehl then suggested that residents be given a grace period of lessened fees so that they can get used to the new drought standards.
Kuehl’s second suggestion decreased penalties for households that go over the target use. Where county staff suggested for the first 15 percent usage over the target amount, households would have to pay double per unit, Kuehl suggested for the first year they pay 1.5 times the standard fee. For any usage above that, Kuehl suggested households pay double, rather than triple, which county staff suggested.
Supervisors agreed on the new policy, which goes into effect immediately.