THE DROUGHT : Aqueduct Shutdown May Mean More Cuts

The state’s shutdown Wednesday of the massive pumps that lift water over the Tehachapi Mountains into Southern California may signal more cutbacks in Ventura County, authorities said.

The pumps, which convey water from Northern California through the California Aqueduct, were shut down because of a lack of water in northern rivers and reservoirs, leaving much of Southern California temporarily dependent on existing supplies in Castaic and Pyramid lakes.

That means that five cities in Ventura County and other areas that are supplied by the state aqueduct may have to reduce water use by as much as 20% by May if rainfall continues at below-average levels, said officials of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

“It’s a real serious situation,” said Richard Balcerzak, assistant general manager of MWD, which sells water to the Calleguas Municipal Water District. Calleguas in turn supplies water to two-thirds of Ventura County’s residents through cities or smaller water districts.

“If we don’t get any real rain between now and the next board meeting Jan. 8, we may recommend that we go into Stage 3 of the drought program,” Balcerzak said.

MWD, which receives most of its water via the state aqueduct for the 15 million people it serves, implemented Stage 1 in September with requests that the cities and districts it supplies voluntarily reduce consumption.

On Dec. 11, MWD announced Stage 2, with mandatory cutbacks of 5% for urban water users and 20% for agricultural users, for an overall reduction of 10%. Those reductions, which carry penalties for violations, will take effect Feb. 1.

At a meeting Wednesday night, Calleguas directors passed along the Stage 2 cuts to the cities served by their district.

Stage 3 would mean a 10% cut to residences and businesses and a 30% cut to farmers. At Stage 4, cuts rise to 15% for urban users and 40% for growers. Stage 5, which Balcerzak called a “doomsday scenario,” calls for 20% reductions for residences and businesses and a 50% reduction for crops.

“It’s really critical how much snow and rain we get this winter,” said Jim Hubert, Calleguas general manager. “It’s just month to month now.”

Reductions at MWD are tied to the amount of water the California Department of Water Resources releases through the aqueduct. Jeff Cohen, a department spokesman, said the state will re-evaluate the water supply each month to determine necessary cutbacks.

He said the state has not predicted how long the aqueduct pumps would remain inactive.

“We’ll start using them whenever we get enough water,” he said.

Oxnard, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Moorpark and Camarillo depend completely or partly on state water. Other cities pump water from underground or use surface water.

MWD’s Stage 2 cutbacks prompted Oxnard to consider an emergency ordinance establishing a tiered water billing system that penalizes customers for using more than their allotment based on the previous year’s average use. But Jim Frandsen, director of public works, said the city had not yet decided on the allocations or the penalties.

Officials in Camarillo and Thousand Oaks said their cities’ ordinances prohibit waste and ask for voluntary water use reductions. Simi Valley has asked for voluntary reductions but has no ordinance regulating use.

None of the three cities is expected to set up mandatory cutbacks, because voluntary efforts have reduced water use by more than the 5% required by MWD, officials said.

Camrosa Water District, which serves half of Camarillo, will decide Friday whether to enact the second phase of its ordinance to require 10% mandatory cutbacks from its residents and 20% cutbacks from the 300 agricultural customers it serves.

District General Manager Gina Manchester said the district probably will go to mandatory reductions because voluntary cutbacks failed after an exceptionally dry August.

“We feel this is very likely the first of more cutbacks from Metropolitan,” Manchester said.

Moorpark is under mandatory water reductions set by the Ventura County Waterworks District. Moorpark and much of the county’s unincorporated areas served by the district have reduced water use by 10% to 15%, officials said.