resume carefree water use. To the contrary, the Poway City Council
will consider instituting a voluntary water conservation program to
encourage residents to take the issue seriously.
Unlike previous efforts, this time the city would focus most of its
efforts on saving water used outdoors.
That would mean encouraging residents to cut back on the amount of
water used for washing cars; cover pools and spas to slow evaporation;
use brooms to clean outside areas instead of spraying them; irrigate
lawns once a week in the winter and no more than three times a week in
the summer; and encourage restaurants to serve water only when
requested.
"Last time there was a water shortage in San Diego, most of the focus
of water conservation were interior to homes – low-flush toilets and
more-efficient showers heads," Poway City Manager Rod Gould said.
"Those were highly successful, but 60 percent of water usage in
Southern California is outside homes in landscaping.
DETAILS
Poway water
conservation proposal
What: The City Council will consider voluntary water conservation at
its meeting Tuesday.
Proposal: Declare a Stage 1 water shortage.
Recommendations: Wash cars with a bucket only; serve water in
restaurants only when requested; use brooms to clean outdoor paved
areas;limit shower times; load dishwashers and washing machines fully
before using.
Next: Possible mandatory cutbacks.
"That's where the focus is to be this and the next several years – to
try to get people to be more frugal in water use and more thoughtful
in what they plant in landscaping."
The council will consider the program at its meeting Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Gould said the city hopes to help the San Diego County Water Authority
reach its goal of reducing personal water use by 20 gallons a day to
save 56,000 acre-feet of water this year, enough to provide water for
120,000 households for a year.
Water Authority spokesman John Liarakos said the county's major water
sources are drying up.
The Colorado River is in a historic drought. The Sacramento delta is
expected to reduce water production by as much as 30 percent, after a
federal judge ordered the cutback to protect endangered delta smelt, a
minnow-sized fish that is sucked into pumps.
The snowpack in the Sierra also is expected to be small because of the
dry year ahead, Liarakos said. That was why the water authority
launched its 20-Gallon Challenge in June.
Gould said Poway's voluntary program will get residents prepared for
cutbacks that may be coming.
"What we expect is that as the new year unfolds, the Metropolitan
Water District and the San Diego County Water Authority will announce
tougher and tougher requirements that will go beyond simple voluntary
measures," Gould said.
That could mean water cutbacks, which would begin at 10 percent in a
Stage 2 shortage and could reach 50 percent or more in the most severe
shortage, Stage 7.
To encourage careful water use, Poway city staff members are expected
to present to the council a conservation package Feb. 5 that offers
incentives. Gould said that package could include rebates for
homeowners who replace grass with drought-tolerant native plants or
artificial turf, or use irrigation systems that turn off when it
rains.
In addition to Poway, Escondido also is pushing conservation,
officials said. The city is revising its water conservation ordinance,
adopted in 1991, to match the region's goals.
One element is new regulations for landscape irrigation in new
developments, Liarakos said.
Encinitas is proposing to increase water rates by an average of 5.5
percent, partly to defray the cost of buying water and partly to
discourage wasteful use, former Mayor James Bond said.
In San Diego, the Water Department audits water use in residences,
provides tips on conservation, helps citizens calculate the optimum
amount of water they should use and encourages drought-tolerant
landscaping. The city also has been attaching conservation messages to
water bills, said Bill Harris, Mayor Jerry Sanders' spokesman.