Approval of Historic Water Conservation Pact Near : Resources: The strict, 16-point program would save at least 500,000 acre-feet a year and create a statewide oversight agency.

Urban water agencies throughout the state are on the verge of adopting an aggressive approach to conservation that will compel Californians to make lasting changes in the way they use water, officials said.

Water districts from San Diego to San Francisco are preparing to sign a landmark agreement that obligates each agency to adopt strict conservation measures governing everything from plants to plumbing. If adopted, the program could save at least 500,000 acre-feet annually--or enough water to service 1 million families for a year, officials said.

After four years of study and negotiations, members of the State Water Conservation Coalition--including water agencies, environmentalists and elected officials--have agreed on a standardized, 16-point conservation program that they want the state’s major urban water agencies to adopt.

The agencies would be required to adopt a range of measures that could include $100 homeowner rebates for installation of low-flush toilets and installing meters in those areas where water has traditionally flowed at a flat monthly rate.

On Wednesday, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley said the city’s Department of Water and Power would formally approve the measure today, becoming the first water agency to agree to the plan.

“For longer than I care to remember, there’s been a war between north and south in California over water,” Bradley said. “It has been clear that there is a need for a uniform approach to water conservation throughout the state (and) this agreement provides the groundwork so that everyone . . . can work together.”

“(This plan) will generate water for the future of California,” said John Flynn, co-chair of the Southern California Water Committee, one of two groups that formed the State Water Conservation Coalition. “This is the first water conservation plan that has teeth,” said Flynn, a Ventura County supervisor.

Other water agencies, including the San Diego County Water Authority, the Metropolitan Water District, East Bay Municipal Utility District and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, have the plan on their board agendas for consideration this month, and officials said they expect the program to be adopted. Flynn estimated that the costs of implementing the plan will be $100 million to $150 million a year statewide.

“It’s statewide and that sets (a) precedent,” said DWP President Mike Gage. “It says for the first time in a long time that water really is a statewide issue and not a regional one and it says we need to work together to resolve it.”

Environmentalists are also in the process of taking the agreement to their boards of directors for adoption.

The agreement was reached with representatives of key environmental groups--including the Sierra Club, Mono Lake Committee and Friends of the River.

If adopted, it would obligate the environmental groups to accept the levels of conservation in the water districts and bar them from demanding that the agencies do more.

“This is a big step for the environmentalists,” said Betsy Reifsnider, associate director of the Mono Lake Committee, who described her organization as the “most consistent and persistent foe” of the DWP.

The measures call for water metering, incentives to reduce home and commercial landscape watering, conservation advertising and school education programs, water waste prohibitions, and appointment of water conservation coordinators at each agency. Other programs include providing home and industry audits of water use, rebates for water efficient appliances and local legislation encouraging water-saving plumbing fixtures.

“It forces new thinking into the process,” said Ed Thornhill, a conservation specialist with the Metropolitan Water District. “I think it will force everybody to come up with more creative and new ideas. . . . It requires agencies to work faster and be more aggressive than they would otherwise have been.”

For many agencies, the 16-point plan is a natural progression of their current conservation program. The DWP, for instance, has already implemented 14 of the 16 points.

But others “have not done anything significant,” Flynn said.

Flynn added that the plan will require major changes by some agencies. A requirement that water meters be installed could prove expensive for cities such as Sacramento, where they are not used, Flynn said.

If the agreement is signed by most of the large urban water agencies, an independent agency--the California Urban Water Conservation Council--would be established to monitor compliance.

“It’s not legally binding, but once signed, you can’t ignore it,” said Carl Boronkay, general manager of the MWD.

All signatories of the agreement will be required to submit annual reports to the council, detailing such things as how many conservation kits have been distributed, how many landscape audits have been conducted, the size of conservation staff and expenses. The council would summarize the reports and forward the findings to the State Water Resources Control Board and to the governor.

Times staff writer Virgina Ellis contributed to this story.

Conservation Plan at a Glance

Here are some highlights of the State Water Resources Control Board’s “Best Management Practices” plan for water conservation. Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley said the city’s Department of Water and Power will approve it today.

AUDITS: Conduct interior and exterior water audits; establish conservation incentive programs for residential, institutional, commercial, industrial and governmental water users.

PLUMBING: Enforce the requirement that all new construction use ultra-low-flush toilets beginning Jan. 1, 1992; support state and federal legislation that prohibits sale of toilets that use more than 1.6 gallons per flush; promote installation of low-flow shower heads and flush-reduction devices.

METERING: Require that all new connections be billed by the volume of water used, and fit existing ones with meters after resale of property.

LANDSCAPING: Require landscape water conservation for commercial, industrial, institutional, governmental and multifamily residential customers. Promote landscape water conservation for single-family homes.

PUBLIC INFORMATION: Continue to promote water conservation by the public and through programs in the schools.

COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL USERS: Develop greater water conservation programs aimed at the largest users; include water efficiency reviews before the release of construction permits.

FINANCIAL INCENTIVES: Create pricing policies that encourage conservation; offer other incentives such as rebates to those who replace toilets with ultra-low-flush models.

WATER WASTE PROHIBITIONS: Enact prohibitions on non-recycling car washes, commercial laundry systems and decorative fountains.

CONSERVATION COORDINATOR: Appoint a water conservation coordinator who will prepare the conservation plan, manage and evaluate it.

SOURCE: Office of the mayor

Compiled by Times researcher Michael Meyers