Southland May Get Almost Normal Water Deliveries

Water conditions at the Metropolitan Water District serving Southern California have improved so dramatically in recent weeks that the giant wholesaler could enter the summer with near normal supplies, new figures released Friday by the agency show.

Largely because of recent purchases from the state Drought Emergency Water Bank, the district is assured of receiving at least 75% of normal water supplies for the year and probably as much as 84% with the additional water bank purchases now being negotiated, officials said.

If further purchases go through, as expected, Metropolitan’s total supplies for the year would rise to 2 million acre feet, just short of the 2.4 million acre feet that officials determined would meet normal demands.

In a report disclosing the figures to MWD’s governing board, officials said there was also “a small possibility” the state would improve supply conditions even more by increasing deliveries from the State Water Project an additional 170,000 acre feet. At that level, the district would be getting 90% of normal, when only a matter of weeks ago, it looked as if the best they could hope for was 67%. (An acre foot is the amount of water a typical Los Angeles family of five uses in 18 months when there is not a drought.)

The new water supply outlook portrayed in the latest report is starkly different from that presented only four months ago when grim-faced MWD administrators were warning that severe water shortages could force them to reduce deliveries to their customers as much as 50%.

“There’s every indication that things have turned around very well but not to the point that we want people to stop conserving,” said MWD General Manager Carl Boronkay. “We’re no longer desperate. We’re concerned but not desperate.”

But as the new figures circulated among board members Friday, some were suggesting that the district should consider relaxing its strict rationing policies--which currently call for an overall 31% cutback in deliveries to its customers, including the city of Los Angeles.

For example, Mike Nolan, a board member representing Burbank, said he thought the new figures left the board little choice but to consider easing the restrictions.

“Based on the information we received Friday, I’m prepared to make the motion (to relax rationing),” said Nolan. “We responded to bad news by threatening Draconian measures; now it’s time to ease up and congratulate the folks for doing such a good job on conserving.”

Boronkay was doubtful, however, that he would recommend any change in rationing this year, even if he ultimately obtains a near normal supply of water.

With California in the midst of its fifth year of drought, Boronkay said he will suggest keeping “a good chunk” of this year’s supply in storage to provide a cushion against an unprecedented sixth or even seventh year of below-normal rainfall. He said the extra water would be kept in the state Oroville Reservoir on the Feather River.

“I’d have to say it’s good for people to get used to using less water,” he said. “(Water rationing is) going to continue to be in our future and this is a good time to start getting used to it.”

Boronkay attributed the change in water conditions, which has reopened debate over rationing, to a number of factors that worked in the district’s favor in the last several months.

Four months ago, he said, the district was facing a 90% cutback in deliveries from the State Water Project and reductions of several hundred thousand acre feet in deliveries from its other major source of water, the Colorado River Aqueduct.

Then, he said, came the March rain miracle, one storm after another that boosted supplies and helped reservoirs recover from the dry months that preceded it. While the March miracle still did not give the state a normal rainfall year, it enabled the State Water Project to ease the cutback in deliveries from 90% to 80%.

At the same time, Boronkay said federal officials agreed because of the drought to give California a full supply of water from the Colorado Aqueduct, a decision that meant MWD’s share of that would be 1.26 million acre feet.

Even more significant to the district, he said, was a decision by Gov. Pete Wilson to organize an emergency water bank that would allow the state to broker water by buying from water-rich areas and selling to water-poor areas.

The district initially purchased 215,000 acre feet from the bank, but then began negotiating for more, Boronkay said, when other potential buyers dropped out of the picture. With the March miracle boosting local supplies, he said other agencies saw water from the bank as “too expensive” for their budgets.

He said the district now hopes to bring its total water bank purchases to 390,000 acre feet.

“I think there is every indication that we’re going to get it (the additional water from the bank),” he said. “I don’t think anyone else is out there willing to pay for it.”

Water Supply

Despite five years of drought, the Metropolitan Water District may receive nearly enough water this year to meet its customers’ normal demand of 2.4 million acre-feet. It is already assured of enough water to meet 76% of demand, and may be able to secure additional supplies that would push the figure to 90%.

Assured 1991 supply

Source Amount in acre-feet Colorado River Aqueduct 1.265 million State Water Project 353,000 Drought Emergency Water Bank 215,000 Total 1.8 million or about 76% of normal

Potential additional water

Source Amount in acre-feet State Water Project 170,000 Drought Emergency Water Bank 175,000 Total 2.7 million or about 90% of normal

SOURCE: Metropolitan Water District of Southern California