Rate hikes, citations and restrictions: doesn’t really sound like a recipe for fun, does it?

The realities of increasing water bills, citations, and new laws restricting water use are only too real for many California residents.

As 2009 marks the third year of a statewide drought, a number of strategies have been put into action by state officials and water district officials to balance the heavy need for water while at the same time addressing the reality of a distinct water shortage. One of the more unpopular strategies has been the proposed rate hike. From Los Angeles to New York, many water districts and municipalities have suggested water rate hikes of anywhere from under 10 percent to nearly 60 percent per month. The New York Water Board earlier suggested a 14 percent rate hike, to the dismay of many, while California water providers such as Golden State Water, the City of Beverly Hills, California Water Service, the Long Beach Water Department and others have suggested, or already enacted, rate hikes around 12, 14, 15 and 18 percent annually. Though the typical rate increase does not make a substantial difference in billing, many residents have still been peeved at the rising costs, and with reason: why pay more for a basic service, if you don’t appear to be getting more of something?

Earlier this month, a combined effort by the State Senate and State Assembly of California yielded five new bills covering water conservation and water use relating to the disputed Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta has been embroiled in controversy since water use regulations became more restrictive. The tighter regulations were enacted in hopes of helping the small delta smelt fish, which lives around the delta. One of the five bills would mandate that everyone (and we mean everyone) in California would need to cut their current water use by 20 percent by 2020. This proposal was started in February, when Governor Schwarzenegger outlined his idea to “achieve a 20 percent reduction in per capita water use statewide by 2020,” according to the Water Resources Control Board. This plan has been more recently referred to as the 20×2020 program (more on this in a future blog).

Many water districts have been asking, or directing, their consumers to cut down on their annual water usage somewhere between 5 – 20%, depending on district. Some districts, such as the LADWP, have been quick to point out success, with the district saying that the typical single-family home was using almost 13% less water this year than it did last year. Many water conservation ordinances which have been put in place in cities across the state (including around Los Angeles) have been restricting the hours during which homeowners can run their sprinklers and use their hoses for the lawn (typically starting at 8 a.m. or 9 a.m. and ending between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.).

The number of reported home water use violations has been surprisingly low: the LADWP reported less than 5,000 instances of homeowners running irrigation systems during off-limits hours. According to the LA Times, “fewer than 30 water users have actually been hit with fines” (typically of $100, at minimum) by DWP officials charged with upholding water conservation regulations throughout LA County.

There are many ways to conserve water on a daily basis. Checking for leaks in your faucets and plumbing can potentially save over 10,000 gallons of wasted water per month. Only running sprinklers during non-restricted hours and installing a weather-based irrigation device (such as Cyber-Rain) which can accurately gage water needs and shut off during rain, can save nearly 40% annually on your landscaping water use.