As rain falls, a push for drier pipes

Mirroring a statewide trend, Laguna Beach residents and business owners used less water in November than in the prior five months since the State Water Resources Control Board issued mandatory restrictions to combat the drought.

In the Laguna Beach County Water District, the average customer used 10 fewer gallons per day in November than in October, while the average ratepayer in the South Coast Water District used three fewer gallons per day in November compared to the prior month, according to statistics the board released Tuesday.

Both districts are trying to reach a required 24% reduction in outdoor potable water use in a period from June 1 through Feb. 29. Since June, South Coast customers have reduced consumption 29.2% compared to the same period in 2013, while Laguna Beach County ratepayers have cut use 22.1%.

South Coast serves residents and businesses in South Laguna, San Juan Capistrano, Dana Point and San Clemente, while Laguna Beach County serves ratepayers in the city’s downtown core and parts of Crystal Cove State Park and Emerald Bay.

For November, South Coast customers cut use 21.8% compared to the same month in 2013, while Laguna Beach County customers reduced outdoor water use 17%.

South Coast spokeswoman Sonja Morgan attributed the district’s overall savings rate to a persistent public outreach campaign coupled with media outlets publishing stories about the drought.

“There has been so much press that people understand it’s the right thing to do, to conserve,” Morgan said. “[News organizations] have had some great visuals, of Lake Tahoe and how far it’s receded, or a tennis shoe lying on cracked ground. This drought has been different, and hopefully people understand it’s a change of life and it’s going to be that way for awhile.”

South Coast staff includes brochures about water conservation with customers’ bills and publicizes information via social media. The district also offers reward programs for residents if they install water-efficient landscapes.

Christopher Regan, assistant general manager for the Laguna Beach County Water District, said he was pleased with residents cutting use 17% in November, considering the cooler temperatures, but added the district has a challenge ahead of it to reach the 24% mark.

“We’re worried it’s going to be a tough couple of months,” Regan said.

District staff recommends residents heed an initiative called the Irrigation Freeze Challenge, which requests they voluntarily turn off irrigation systems from Dec. 1 through Feb. 29.

“I was driving to work two weeks ago, it was raining, and a resident’s irrigation system was running,” Regan said. “It’s easier if they don’t have to remember to turn off sprinklers every time it rains. I would rather have someone turning the water on because it hasn’t rained for a week, than remembering every two days to turn it off.”

Regan advised shorter shower times as another way residents can save water. Laguna Beach County offers low-flow shower heads for free at its offices at 306 Third St.

Gov. Jerry Brown in April called for a statewide mandatory cutback of 25%, and the water board set different conservation targets for each agency depending on its history of water savings. Communities that have already reduced water use through past conservation will have lower mandates than those that have not made such gains since the last major drought.

In November, the statewide conservation rate was 20.3%, down from 22.3% in October, according to a water board news release. By contrast, average statewide water use declined from 87gallons per person per day in October to 75in November — the lowest observed since the board’s emergency regulation went into effect.

The state is more than 80% toward meeting its goal of 1.2 million acre-feet of water saved through February.

Water officials, though, caution against complacency with this week’s rain.

“Most of California is still experiencing severe drought,” water board Chairwoman Felicia Marcus said in a statement. “Residential water users are urged to keep up their efforts to conserve through the winter months. That includes complying with urban water supplier directives to switch to watering schedules of once a week as well as a prohibition against watering during a rain event and 48hours directly following a rain event.”

Both South Coast and Laguna Beach County limit customers’ outdoor sprinkler watering to once a week.