Rains May End Need for Water Rationing
NEWPORT BEACH — City officials say they are hopeful that they won’t have to impose water rationing on residents next summer because of the recent rainfall.
The rain, which raised the water level of Big Canyon Reservoir by 1.62 inches in two days, may eliminate the necessity of rationing, acting Utilities Director Jeff A. Staneart said Wednesday.
“I’d say the (past two days) of rain and snowfall will go a long way toward alleviating the rationing program here, certainly before next summer,” he said.
Staneart said the city was expecting to continue its rationing program during the summer, but that most likely won’t happen now.
Between February, 1991, and May, 1992, the city mandated that residents cut back water use by 20% from the previous year or pay 91 cents extra for every water unit (750 gallons) they went over. The city collected about $900,000, $60,000 of which went to pay Metropolitan Water District penalties imposed on the city, according to Staneart.
MWD spokesman Bob Gompers said the rain and snow falling in Northern California is what will take Southern California out of the drought.
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