South Coast Water District beats reduction goal, but L.B. County District doesn’t

South Coast Water District customers cut water use more than their required amount for the third straight month as the State Water Resources Control Board released August results last week.

The district that serves residents and businesses in South Laguna, Dana Point, San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente reduced outdoor potable watering by 31.6% from August 2013, exceeding its required 24% target.

The state board set 2013 as the baseline for determining water savings.

Laguna Beach County Water District customers failed to reach their collective 24% required mark, cutting use by 21.8% in August.

The state water board in May voted for a 25% mandatory reduction in potable water use by next March to combat the lingering drought. The board assigned conservation targets to each water agency based on average daily water use in summer 2014.

South Coast, whose clients include the Montage Laguna Beach, homeowner associations, county agencies, and the city of Dana Point, have reduced water use by more than 31% each month since the state began tracking agencies June 1.

“We have been working with these groups for months and they have really responded,” South Coast General Manager Andy Brunhart said. “The driver [of the reduction figures] is the community’s response of the call to conserve at the height of a severe drought.”

Even though Laguna Beach County didn’t meet is conservation goal for August, district Assistant General Manager Christopher Regan has the longer-term goal in mind.

“I’m impressed our customers cut back 22% considering the heat,” Regan said of the district, which is 100% dependent on water from the Colorado River and Northern California. “We’re in this for the long haul.”

Both Laguna Beach County and South Coast must reduce potable water use by 24% from June 1 through February 29 — an extra day due to a leap year.

Laguna Beach County customers are allowed to water outdoors twice a week, but Regan said district staff is considering moving to one day a week while getting the word out on conservation

To give motorists a visual reminder of where the district stands regarding its target of 200 million gallons saved by the end of February, Laguna Beach County staff have placed boards with a graphic of a water tank at the entrances to town along Laguna Canyon Road and Coast Highway.

Water agencies can be fined under certain circumstances if they don’t meet targets, but neither of Laguna’s districts have received such punishment.

Laguna Beach County will likely receive a warning letter, state water board spokesman George Kostyrko wrote in an email.

Statewide, Californians cut water use by nearly 27% in August, exceeding Gov. Jerry Brown’s 25% mandate for the third straight month.

The state is halfway toward meeting its goal of 1.2 million acre-feet of water saved by the end of February.

For more information on the August numbers, visit the state board website at waterboards.ca.gov.