Consumers cut water usage, but dry winter could bring rationing

PASADENA, Calif. (KABC) -- Local agencies have been pushing water conservation, and consumers cut back on water use an average of 11 percent in August.

But Wednesday Californians got a warning that conservation is not enough. Members of the Metropolitan Water District say that depending on what happens this winter, full scale water-rationing may be next.

Across California and the Southwest, water reserves are diminishing. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California says it used two-thirds of its reserves over the last three years.

There could soon be water-rationing, but they're still not ready to talk about what people would be told to do.

"What we'd probably do is putting in sort of penalties," said MWD General Manager Jeffrey Kightlinger. "People have been conserving 10 percent, but we'd want to probably hard-wire that in, that you must conserve that 10 percent."

NASA climatologist Bill Patzert says the forecast for this winter does not look good.

"The pattern that we have seen really since last October, for more than a year really, it looks like deja-vu all over again and yet another dry winter," said Patzert.

Water districts are scrambling to find more water.

In the San Gabriel Valley the big concern is the underground aquifer. Officials expect to pull 150,000 acre-feet of water from the aquifer. Just one acre-foot is enough to fill a football field with water 1 foot deep.

The problem is the level is dropping to the point it's hard to get water from the ground.

"We've seen some wells that have started to see inefficiency in pumping because they're pulling from such low levels. Some wells are starting to pick up a little bit of air," said Tony Zampiello, San Gabriel Bain Water Board.

Normally, to replenish the aquifer, water could be brought from Northern California, but there is none to be delivered.

An alternative would be the Colorado River, but that area has another problem.

"There's a risk of an invasive species, the Quagga mussel, getting into those areas and multiplying. So we're working with L.A. County to try and see if we can take that Colorado River water. It's a little more reliable, but it's still dry on the Colorado," said Zampiello.

The good news is that officials say consumers appear to be listening. They cut back on water use an average of 11 percent in August. But officials say it's still not enough.

"This is a way of life, not just sort of getting through a drought. So good news is people are responding, we're seeing water use drop. We're getting through it. Bad news is it remains hot and dry," said Kightlinger.

Officials say they are preparing for another year of little rain, again. And they're saying now that statewide rules could include limiting lawn-watering to just one day a week, or possibly eliminating all daytime watering altogether.