Santa Monica Eases Limits for Mandatory Water Cuts

Santa Monica became one of the first cities to respond to the “March Miracle” of rain by rolling back mandatory water rationing from 25% to 20%

The Santa Monica City Council voted unanimously this week to relax the rationing in light of the state’s sixth wettest March on record and precedent-setting water savings by residents last month.

The council voted to allow construction of hot tubs of less than 500 gallons and to allow pools constructed before April 1 to be filled.

The decision came at the same time the Metropolitan Water District, which supplies 60% of the city’s water, rolled back cuts in water deliveries to member cities from 50% to 31%. The state received enough rainwater last month to fill many reservoirs to 60% of normal and to provide snowpack at 75% of normal.

Other Southland cities, such as Burbank and Beverly Hills, anticipated the district’s move and scaled back plans for rationing, but Santa Monica appears to be one of the first cities in the region to have relaxed restrictions already in place.

But city officials warned residents that the serious tone of the city’s 3-year-old water conservation program has not ended. It’s imperative that we continue to conserve,” said Mayor Judy Abdo. “I think it’s a long-term issue. We live in a semi-arid environment.”

Santa Monica residents, who have been at the forefront of water conservation, responded to calls for conservation last month--before mandatory rationing was even in effect--with a 26.1% reduction in water use.

“That very possibly is the biggest one-month decline that we’ve experienced in the last five years,” said Craig Perkins, the city’s environmental services manager.

The rollback to 20% will be retroactive to April 1, when the 25% cuts went into effect. This means that residents who cut back water use between 20% and 24% will not be fined, Perkins said.

With a 20% cutback, the average single family household will have to save about 70 gallons per day and apartment and condominium dwellers will have to save 36 gallons per day to avoid fines. Residents face a fine of $3 for every extra 748 gallons above their allowance each two-month billing period, plus an extra 15% of their water bill for a first offense.

The original cutbacks included a base line so residents who conserved water last year would not be unfairly restricted. During its meeting Tuesday night, the council raised that base line, from 197 to 221 gallons per day for single-family households and from 111 to 135 gallons per day for apartment and condominium units.

City staff members are studying the mandatory cutbacks to see if the fines are fair to those who saved water last year, but who don’t meet the base line. It is also studying whether to allow covered pools to be constructed, despite its moratorium on pool construction. Pool lobbyists told the council that covered pools prevent evaporation and thus require less water.