MWD Reduces Conservation, Hikes Its Rates : Drought: Local agencies also relax guidelines. Officials say some backsliding is inevitable, but hope water-saving devices will make some cuts permanent.

With drought conditions easing, the Metropolitan Water District on Tuesday voted formally to roll back water rationing, but state and regional officials agreed that conservation--though on a greatly reduced level--must continue indefinitely.

Local agencies dependent on the giant MWD for water supplies, including Los Angeles’ Department of Water and Power, also moved toward relaxing conservation plans.

“We’re not out of the woods yet,” said Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley as he called on the DWP to end mandatory rationing and replace it with a voluntary program to cut use 10%. “The (water supply) picture is looking brighter, but the problem is not over. . . . You’ve still got a job to do.”

Although more water will be available, consumers will be paying more for it. MWD directors approved a 21% rate hike Tuesday that will cost average consumers about $1.25 a month, depending on how much water their local agency purchases from the MWD.

Some officials said it is human nature to backslide when restrictions are lifted and conservation is made voluntary.

Roger Frauenfelder, the deputy city manager of San Diego, said he is afraid indications that the drought is easing would threaten recent strides in conservation. “We made such inroads in changing the mind-set of the average citizen to recognize the importance of conservation that it seems like a shame to quite hastily say, ‘Well, the drought’s over,’ and then we slip back into old ways,” Frauenfelder said.

But others expect the conservation ethic to stick. DWP officials said that even a voluntary conservation program will probably reduce water usage by 10% to 15%.

Based on statewide rainfall to date, California appears headed for an unprecedented sixth consecutive year of drought conditions. But February rains, coupled with a successful conservation program in the last year, have left reservoirs at higher levels.

The MWD action followed the state Department of Water Resources’ announcement Monday that it will nearly double the amount of water it will deliver this year to members. The state agency said it will increase deliveries to State Water Project members--including the MWD--to 35% of water requested, up from 20%.

Under the action unanimously approved by the MWD Board of Directors without discussion Tuesday, the agency will reduce from 31% to 17% the conservation restriction it has imposed on water it sells wholesale to 27 agencies. The MWD supplies about 60% of the water consumed by 15 million people in its six-county service area stretching from Ventura County to the Mexican border and inland to Riverside.

Even though more water will be available, many officials said consumers probably will continue to conserve. They note that after the drought of 1977-1978, water demand did not return to normal levels for three years.

This time, officials said, habits are being helped along by plumbing.

Unlike past droughts, in which conservation was based primarily on changing consumer behavior, officials and homeowners got smart and changed the hardware that consumes the most water in a home: toilets and showers.

In the last three years, Los Angeles’ Department of Water and Power spent $27 million to subsidize the installation of 225,000 low-flow toilets and millions of dollars more to distribute 1.5 million low-flow shower heads.

The MWD subsidized installation of an additional 100,000 low-flush toilets and distributed 1 million shower heads.

The toilets--which reduce the average flush to 1.6 gallons from the standard six to eight gallons--are saving about 20,000 acre-feet of water a year--enough to provide the water needed for 40,000 to 50,000 families annually, according to the DWP.

The shower heads, which deliver about 2 1/2 gallons a minute, compared to eight to 11 gallons a minute on standard models, could save 56,000 acre-feet of water a year--enough to provide the water needed for 110,000 to 150,000 families.

The savings from these fixtures equal about 2% to 3% of the water used in Southern California, said Tim Quinn, director of the conservation division of the MWD.

Cooler weather also helped consumers to cut water use, which fell by nearly 30% in San Diego and Los Angeles in the last year, Quinn said.

But consumer habits accounted for the bulk of savings, he said, and much of the savings was in the home.

DWP figures show that sewer flows, which measure water leaving household drains, dropped 15% during the last three years.

It is unclear just how much outdoor water use was cut, but conservation’s impact on the state’s nursery industry was evident.

Michael Kunce, president of Armstrong Garden Centers and vice president of the Council for a Green Environment, said 30,000 jobs were lost in the landscaping industry as homeowners let lawns and shrubs die and postponed landscaping projects.

Although it was good news that some restrictions will be eased, Kunce said it will probably be a slow recovery for his business. “People will be hesitant about running out and landscaping without knowing if this will happen again,” he said.

Just hours after the MWD decided to roll back its rationing, officials in Burbank and the Las Virgenes area said they plan to follow suit and relax mandatory conservation programs.

Customers in the Las Virgenes district, which supplies water to Agoura Hills, Calabasas and Westlake Village, will still be required to reduce their consumption by about 17%, instead of 27%. In Burbank, officials said they will recommend a reduction of water rationing from a mandatory 31% to a voluntary 17%.

In San Diego, directors of the county’s water authority said they plan to consider a proposal to reduce water conservation goals from 20% to 10%.

Many of Orange County’s water agencies say they will keep their conservation requirements or ease them only slightly.

“We wanted ours based on a permanent conservation ethic rather than just reactionary to (weather) conditions,” said Joyce Gwidt, a spokeswoman for the Irvine Ranch Water District. “Drought can happen at any time and conservation should be a permanent way of life.”

Times staff writers Greg Braxton, John Chandler, Marla Cone, Aaron Curtiss, Michael Granberry, Tracey Kaplan and Carlos V. Lozano contributed to this story.

Conservation Heroes

As official restrictions on water use are eased, experts say voluntary consumer conservation measures will still be needed as the state enters an expected sixth year of drought.

Officials say two devices--low-flow toilets and shower heads--have been particularly effective water-savers over the last few years. Here’s a look at recent programs of the Metropolitan Water District and its member agencies, including the L.A. Department of Water and Power:

LOW-FLOW TOILETS

Combined programs: Subsidized installation of up to 340,000 low-flow toilets across six-county MWD region. Includes installation of 225,000 low-flow toilets subsidized by DWP.

Estimated savings: About 20,000 acre feet a year--enough to serve 40,000 to 50,000 households.

LOW-FLOW SHOWER HEADS

DWP program: Distributed about 1.5 million low-flow shower heads.

MWD program: Distributed 1 million shower heads.

Combined estimated savings: About 56,000 acre-feet of water a year--enough to provide water for 110,000 to 150,000 families.

SOURCE: Dept. of Water and Power, Metropolitan Water District