Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment
May 22, 2008
1. Top Items -
New developments urged, or required, to offset impact
By Mike Lee and Michael Gardner, staff writers
But that's no longer a safe bet because of drought, environmental rules restricting water supplies, greater demand from nearby states and the escalating cost of the increasingly precious commodity.
In response, water agencies across
Builders are being asked or forced to prove that they can offset their impact to existing users by using reclaimed wastewater, conserving water or creating new sources of it.
In
“Our traditional water supply concepts are being challenged and the future water supply is uncertain. . . . We better make sure that we have water to meet the growth plans” and existing demand, said Mitch Dion, general manager of the Rincon del Diablo Municipal Water District in Escondido.
Many residents welcome tougher measures to make new or expanded developments “water neutral.”
“I resent being forced into (conservation) with calls to don't waste water and seeing it going to new development,” said Glenn Carroll, who lives in Fallbrook and was once a water agency official in
His frustrations could increase this month as water agencies bombard the region with TV, radio and print ads from a new $1.8 million conservation campaign.
The countywide goal for 2008 is to save the equivalent amount of water used by 112,000 homes in a year. Mandatory cutbacks have started for farmers and could be extended to others by early next year if conservation lags or drought forecasts worsen, several water officials said.
Just a few months ago,
Such views are changing, said Michael Cowett, a lawyer for several water districts in the county.
“Unless the weather trends over the past decade just reverse themselves, we are not going to have the kind of supply we have been used to,” Cowett said.
More aggressive conservation is expected in the county and throughout the state. Some water districts could impose higher rates on residential and commercial users, and some have mandated cutbacks that, for example, prevent restaurants from serving water unless diners ask for it and limit lawn watering to certain hours.
The Legislature anticipated some of the concerns related to new building projects in 2002, when two laws went into effect that forced water districts to assess the availability of water for developments equaling 500 units or more.
“We can't just say if you build it, there will be water,” said Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, who wrote one of the bills.
The state laws did increase reviews of major projects, but statewide growth continues to skyrocket. That's partly because water agencies generally still take what cities and regional planners predict for population growth, then do whatever they can to satisfy the projected demand.
Water officials also approve requests for increased supply because they expect more water sources to come online by the time large developments are built. That approach has been called into question by the state's nagging dry spell and the reduction of water deliveries from
The changing attitudes are perhaps most evident at the Eastern Municipal Water District in Perris, which approved 85 water availability requests for developments between 2002 and last October. That's when the district stopped issuing assurances because of increasingly unstable supplies.
Last month, Eastern Municipal's officials announced that approvals would start to flow again – but only with strict water efficiency commitments from developers for future projects. Those mandates include using drought-tolerant plants for all landscaping and installing the most advanced water-saving devices indoors and outdoors.
At about the same time, expansion plans for the UTC mall were jeopardized because they could create a substantially greater water demand for the area.
“That adverse situation forced us to reconsider our design and everything we were doing,” said Jonathan Bradhurst, a senior vice president of
The company will present its water conservation strategy to the city Planning Commission today.
To the north, developer New Urban West of Santa Monica has proposed a community of 742 homes just west of
Water managers could get more power soon. One of the most closely watched water bills in
It's unclear how such demands would mesh with growth plans prepared by cities and counties.
This is probably the issue of the day – whether you can limit growth by shutting off water supply or making it more difficult to build a home,” said Tim Coyle, a top official at the California Building Industry Association.
Coyle said that there's only so much lawmakers can force developers to do as they try to meet housing demands. He said the state will continue to attract newcomers, “all with straws in their mouth.”
Several water and economy experts said that the current housing slump has a silver lining because water agencies aren't handling nearly as many requests for new developments as they were earlier in the decade. That gives them months or possibly years to shore up water supplies before demand for new water spikes.
At that point, expect to see more flare-ups between developers, local policies that encourage growth and water managers who are increasingly wary about overstating how much they can provide.
“When the economy starts to warm up again, you'll see more potential for friction,” said Jeff Kightlinger, general manager of the Metropolitan Water District in
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20080522-9999-1n22water.html
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