Water supply threats worsen

By BRADLEY J. FIKES - Staff Writer | Saturday, April 12, 2008 10:08 PM PDT ∞

San Diego County has long had to worry about drought. It imports nearly all of its water from sources hundreds of miles away. Now it's struggling with what has been called a "man-made drought," a cut of up to 30 percent from Northern California rivers.

Local water agencies have created numerous programs to encourage saving water. For example, the region's water wholesaler, the San Diego County Water Authority, is promoting a "20 Gallon Challenge" to cut household water use by 20 gallons a day. And the authority recently adopted a model drought conservation plan for its member agencies, who directly provide water to customers.

View the San Diego Water Authority Succulent Garden landscape blueprint

However, other water-deprived areas outside of California have done even more to conserve water. One of the most notable examples is the Las Vegas area, renowned for its creative management of a water supply that's far more limited than San Diego County's.

Las Vegas has managed to produce an economic boom despite drought, and even decreased its water use in the bargain. This has been done mostly through conservation. By contrast, most of San Diego County's efforts have focused on getting more water, particularly its landmark water transfer deal with the Imperial Irrigation District.

That supply, however, is contingent upon there being enough water to transfer, and Mother Nature has shown herself to be a fickle provider. Conservation and reclamation of already used water doesn't rely on the vagaries of the weather. So the Las Vegas area, a desert like San Diego County, provides an example for what can be done locally.

Total water consumption in the Las Vegas area dropped by 13 billion gallons from 2002 to 2007, said Doug Bennett, conservation manager for the Southern Nevada Water Authority, the water wholesaler for the region. During the same period, the area's population has increased by 400,000.

Desert success

Las Vegas has had no choice but to become more efficient in conserving and reusing water. The landlocked area doesn't even have the desalination option available to coastal San Diego County.

Las Vegas' major water source is Lake Mead, filled by the Colorado River. The state's annual allocation of 300,000 acre-feet from the Colorado River was reached decades ago. But the Las Vegas area, consumer of nearly all the water in the state, uses much more than that, thanks to reclamation. Water reclaimed and released into Lake Mead doesn't count against the area's allocation. That reclaimed water re-enters the Colorado River water supply, where it is used by farmers and by business and urban customers, including those in San Diego.

In San Diego County, reclaimed water can be used for irrigation or manufacturing, but not for drinking, due to public squeamishness over what's called "toilet to tap." So unused reclaimed water is dumped into the ocean.

About six years ago, the Las Vegas region had to crank up the volume on conservation even more than usual. An extraordinary drought in the Colorado River basin reduced supplies throughout much of the Western states.

So the Las Vegas-area water agencies unleashed a torrent of new incentives, including discount coupons for carwashes. That's water-saving, Bennett said, because carwashes recycle their water, while water used to hose down cars in driveways is lost to evaporation.

There are also rebates for buying water-saving devices, a program that has just arrived to San Diego County. In March, the city of San Diego and the county Water Authority announced rebates of up to $175 to homes or businesses for buying water-conserving appliances such as clothes washers.

Most notably, Las Vegas homeowners are paid to replace turf grass lawns with less-thirsty landscaping. (The city of Poway recently adopted an ordinance to pay homeowners for replacing natural turf with the artificial kind.)

The water conservation system is now largely self-enforced, Bennett said. Price incentives, rebates and education have made the population water-aware.

Water hogs still exist in the Las Vegas area, Bennett said, but they pay a heavy price in higher water bills. Large water users pay hefty surcharges and fines for practices deemed to be water-wasting. By contrast, diligent water-savers get a big reward in lower water bills.

"Our incentive programs are enormous. We spend over $90 million (annually) paying people to do things that conserve water," Bennett said. "All of our conservation programs are financed by new growth. So when somebody moves into this valley and develops a piece of property, they pay pretty large connection fees. A portion of those monies goes to funding conservation efforts."

Bennett said that gives him a nice answer for longtime residents who feel imposed upon because their conservation is making more growth possible.

"That new person, who you're helping provide water for, is paying the bill for these (conservation) programs," Bennett said.

Getting the word out

Water conservation depends on public support, Bennett says. People have to be constantly told of the need to save water and what they can do to help

People may think they're saving water by not running the tap while they're brushing their teeth, Bennett said. But most of the water savings comes from reducing outdoor water use. Water from indoor use can be reclaimed, while water wasted outside evaporates in the hot desert sun.

Bennett said the district uses a combination of public education, water rates that penalize high water use, regulations and incentive programs.

"They really all play off each other," Bennett said, calling outreach "a critical component."

"We'll spend millions of dollars on messaging, publicity and so forth," Bennett said. "Most of those messages are intended to drive people to other resources, to let them know about a product or service, to let them know about a behavior we want them to implement.

"One of the key principles behind our success is actively engaging the community in not only (explaining) what the issues are and what the choices are, but making it very clear exactly what they can do about it," Bennett said.

Some of the messages are surprising: While turf grass lawns are discouraged because they use so much water, just about any other greenery will produce substantial water savings.

"They can have a very lush-looking landscape," Bennett said. "They can have a tropical landscape with flowers and trees, shrubs and plants. They can have a rose garden. All we care is that it's not spray-irrigated turf grass anymore."

On average, the water savings from converting from lawns to other vegetation is about 75 percent, Bennett said.

Short to long term

Water conservation needs to proceed on two tracks: short-term responses to emergencies and long-term changes in behavior, said Chris Brown, executive director of the California Urban Water Conservation Council.

"In an immediate threat to water supplies, restrictions on outdoor water use have been shown to work around the country," Brown said. For example, watering lawns and gardens could be prohibited during middays, limited to certain days of the week or entirely banned.

The model drought conservation plan endorsed last month by the San Diego County Water Authority aims for a unified response to drought among its 24 member agencies that sell water directly to customers. The plan is intended to make it easier to get a single message out to the public in San Diego County about what they should do during a drought.

The plan, which must be adopted by the member agencies to go into effect, establishes four levels of drought warnings.

Level One, Drought Watch, calls for a 10 percent voluntary reduction in consumer water use. The remaining three ---- Drought Alert, Drought Critical and Drought Emergency ---- call for mandatory reductions of up to 20 percent, 40 percent and more than 40 percent, respectively.

These levels come with specified conservation measures that curb practices regarded as nonessential, such as outdoor irrigation. This ensures that people who are already conserving water are not penalized.

These drought warnings, however, are short-term measures.

For the longer term, the goal is to get people to use a series of so-called "best management practices" that have been proven to permanently reduce per-capita water use, Brown said. These include more efficient irrigation timers, changing landscape to drought-tolerant species, or using a broom instead of washing down driveways.

Sometimes, short-term restrictions can lead to long-term changes in behavior, Brown said.

"A lot of customers learn that their lawns don't go dead when they're not watered every day," Brown said. "It's a very educational experience. These have been learning opportunities as well as challenges."

Contact staff writer Bradley J. Fikes at (760) 739-6641 or bfikes@nctimes.com. Comment at nctimes.com.

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