REGION PART OF WATER USE, WASTE STUDY; HABITS SHOW PATTERNS.

Byline: Michael Coit Daily News Staff Writer

Just as a television ratings box divulges the viewing habits of typical American families, a water industry group is trying to uncover their washing, drinking and flushing patterns.

In western Los Angeles County and 11 other areas across the United States and Canada, some 1,200 randomly selected households have agreed to allow a device the size of a Walkman to be attached to their water meters. The new technology can tell the difference between toilets flushing and faucets running, washing machines filling and landscape systems irrigating.

The preliminary findings have given water managers some cause for concern about waste - but also reason for hope that conservation is not waning in Southern California since the last drought gripped the region into the early '90s.

``The thing that drives this is the water that is saved has value and we invest in things that have the highest value,'' said Mike Hollis, senior resource specialist for the Metropolitan Water District, the primary supplier of imported drinking water to the region. ``It also gives us estimates of the quantity of the water that's being saved. Then that may allow us to defer or to avoid capital projects.''

The American Water Works Association Research Foundation is conducting the study. A final report is expected by early next year, when participants will receive their individual - and confidential - results, officials said.

For two weeks last summer and this past winter, the devices recorded revolutions of water meter needles to determine volume. Varying periods of use reveal differences between fixtures.

The study areas have different climates and housing characteristics to provide a range of results.

Seattle and Eugene, Ore., in the temperate, rain-soaked Pacific Northwest are far different, for instance, than the dry desert of Phoenix. The semi-arid Conejo Valley and the surrounding hills and mountains served by the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District contrast with subtropical Tampa, Fla., or Waterloo, Ontario, north of Lake Erie.

The results will establish typical water-use habits that agencies can use to determine the best conservation programs for their customers.

``The purpose was to determine where the water actually goes once it goes through the water district's meter,'' said Scott Harris, the Las Virgenes water conservation and reuse supervisor.

``There's a lot of thought on where water goes, but that's just a lot of educated guesses for the most part,'' he said. ``Now we can put together better water conservation programs.''

A notable result was greater than expected leakage from plumbing when not in use - accounting for as much as 13 percent of total water use.

So an agency like Las Virgenes could increase the number of home water surveys each year to test for leaks, as well as identify fixtures that can be retrofitted to save water.

The results primarily establish data other agencies can use to gauge water-use habits from comparable areas for planning purposes.

Las Virgenes is an example of an area with significant participation in indoor conservation programs, but with particularly large landscaped lots that guzzle irrigation water. The agency serves 18,000 customers - a population of 65,000 - from Westlake Village and Agoura Hills to Calabasas and Chatsworth.

Residents in Las Virgenes used 63.9 gallons of water indoors each day, compared with the studywide average of 69.8 gallons. Outdoor use, however, was 168.7 gallons each day compared with the studywide average of 103.6 gallons, according to the results.

Lower-than-average indoor water use in Las Virgenes could be attributed to a program that provides a $60 rebate if ultra-low-flow toilets are installed to replace older models - 6,800 toilets so far. The district also has given away 22,000 low-flow shower heads.

Las Virgenes, notably, was second only to San Diego in having the greatest percentage of customers' homes that only have ultra-low-flow toilets. Considering that a single ultra-low-flow toilet can save 8,500 to 10,000 gallons of water a year, the potential conservation is significant.

Outdoor water use is a different story in Las Virgenes.

``On the indoors, it's fine. Looking at the outdoors, there's a wide variety of factors, one of which is what the area is like. It's the lot size and the climate,'' said Arlene Post, the district's spokeswoman.

The median lot size across the North American study was 5,500-7,500 square feet, compared with 10,000-12,000 in the Las Virgenes district.

And given the semi-arid climate, the district encourages residents to use vegetation that requires less water. That advice often comes during home water surveys, of which the district has completed 3,500, Post said.

An important challenge in whether conservation is effective is changing behavior.

``Decision and action are key words. We have to change behavior and that's hard to do,'' Harris said. ``You can put a fixture in place, but ultimately conservation is determined by the user.''

The study reveals that conservation is becoming more a way of life. But water agencies are pushing for even greater savings given concerns over future drinking water supplies from both the State Water Project and the Colorado River.

Earlier this year, the state Department of Water Resources projected in a report looking ahead to 2020 that every effort to capture, recycle, transfer and conserve water would be needed to keep up with population growth. Even then, the state would be short of water if a drought hit.

MWD imports water from both the Colorado River and Northern California and wholesales it to Las Virgenes and 26 other member agencies in six Southern California counties, including Los Angeles and Ventura.

Hollis, with MWD, said the agency's plan assessing future demand projects that conservation is expected to reduce urban water demand 15 percent by 2020.

The six-year drought that lingered into 1992 made people pay attention to conservation. Much of the interest, however, came amid mandatory rationing and changes in billing so rates reflect water use volume.

``The drought was the driving force. It's a harder sell during El Nino,'' Harris said.

DOWN THE DRAIN

Initial results of a home water-use study in 12 areas of the United States and Canada show the daily averages for a single person:

173.4 gallons (includes indoor and outdoor use).

5.1 toilet flushes/18.6 gallons.

16.2 gallons for washing clothes.

11.8 gallons for showers.

11 gallons from faucets.

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Box

PHOTO (Color) (Ran in Simi and Conejo Edition only) no caption (water faucet)

BOX: DOWN THE DRAIN (See text)