Water conservation measures flood the state as lawmakers try to stem growth of hookups.

Water conservation measures flood the state as lawmakers try to stem growth of hookups

Proposals to limit construction in order to stem demands on the state's drought-starved water supply continued to flow from politicians all over California last month, much to the concern of the building industry.

In Los Angeles, Mayor Tom Bradley, a few weeks after declaring that people, not buildings, use water, has created a task force to look at ways to offset water demands caused by new construction. Bradley just last month publicly opposed two measures proposed by council members that would limit hookups.

The mayor's position "is not a flip-flop," said Bill Chandler, spokesman for Bradley. "The mayor has repeatedly stated his commitment to saving water and doing whatever is necessary," Chandler said.

The board of the San Diego County Water Authority earlier this month passed a moratorium on all new water hook-ups, unless the developer uses reclaimed water or provides a conservation offset, said Mark Stadler, spokesman for the district. The board also voted to restrict owners of newly-built swimming pools from using the potable water supply to fill the pools, he said.

The water authority, which supplies 23 water districts in San Diego County, will charge water districts twice as much for water if the agencies do not comply with measures, part of a 12-point conservation plan, Stadler said. San Diego Mayor Maureen O'Conner has said she opposes the plan, he added.

In Sacramento, Assemblyman Dominic Cortese, (D-San Jose), has introduced a measure that would halt project approval until the developer could prove that there was a "reliable water supply" available.

"The pressure politically to restrict new water service is mounting," said Paul Tryon, executive officer of the Building Industry Association for Los Angeles and Ventura counties. The BIA earlier this month issued an estimate that 18,229 jobs could be lost this year as a result of moratoriums or limits on new water hook-ups in Los Angeles County.

The building group considers the water imitation proposals the "number one" issue facing construction, Tryon stated. Building industry officials contend that moratoriums on water hookups could push the Southland into a deeper recession.

Earlier this year, two small water districts, the Las Virgenes Water District in northwest Los Angeles County and the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District, imposed moratoriums on new water hook-ups.

Tryon said moratoriums on water hookups have also been debated by city councils all over Los Angeles and Ventura counties. An Oxnard city councilman proposes a moratorium "at virtually every council meeting," Tyron said.

Aside from Bradley's plan, two council-members, Zev Yaroslavsky and Ruth Galanter, have proposed water conservation measures which would place limits on construction. Galanter's plan, like Bradley's, would allow construction if developers offset the water demand by installing low-flow showers and low-flush toilets in other existing buildings.

But Bradley initially opposed both council member's proposals. Chandler said that Bradley wants a plan which balances water conservation and economic factors.

One option being eyed is to have developers install low-flush toilets in schools in the Los Angeles City School District, said Jerry Gewe of the DWP. The task force will decide how developers may accomplish the water offset and how much of an offset is required, Gewe said.

Gewe said that the offset may be less than 100 percent of the water demand the new project creates. The mayor has asked for a offset recommendation by April 8, he added.

There is some good news for construction, as it appears that politicians are leaning toward water offset requirements instead of outright building bans, said Ken Willis, executive vice president of the BIA of Southern California. "It doesn't appear that there will be a rash of water districts pushing for moratoriums at the moment," he said.

Willis was particularly concerned about the Cortese bill, which would force developers to identify a source of water before a project is approved. "There is no reason for this bill. It is just political," Willis said.

Tryon said that the California Environmental Quality Act already addresses the issue of water for a project.

Linda Adams, a legislative aide to Cortese, said the assemblyman authored the bill at the request of the East Bay Municipal Utility Distict in Oakland. In Northern California, there have been real instances of "irate people expecting to move into their homes and finding they couldn't get a water meter," Adams said.

Snow pack levels have been greatly diminished by five years of drought. Snow survey data indicates that Los Angeles will receive only about 25 percent of its water from the Eastern Sierra Nevada watershed, Bradley said earlier this month.

Tighter restrictions on construction may occur if the drought continues into another year, said Dell Scott, board member and chairman of the Los Angeles delegation of the Metropolitan Water District, which sells water to the DWP and other water districts throughout Southern California.

Scott said that Bradley's water hookup plan makes sense and it is important not to hurt the construction industry. But he added, "At some point if this (drought) continues it's obvious our communities are going to have to face up to a total ban on hookups. What else are we going to do?"

PHOTO : Water: Five years of drought take their toll