Long Beach eases water restrictions after rains up north

Improving water conditions in the northe part of the state due to this year’s El Niño rains will mean loosening water restrictions in Long Beach.

The Water Department Board of Commissioners voted Thursday to move Long Beach to a Stage 1 water shortage — downgraded from the Stage 2 water shortage that was in effect starting May 2015.

A Stage 1 shortage means residents may water on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from April through September. During the cooler months of October through March, a two-day per week watering schedule will be in effect.

“While residents will receive some relief from the more stringent water use restrictions, we are still calling for continued and diligent water use efficiency in the city. Wasteful water practices are now prohibited permanently by the State,” Chris Gaer, general manager of the Long Beach Water Department, said in a statement.

A Stage 1 shortage first went into effect in November 2014, when a continuing drought dropped key reservoirs to historic lows. By May 2015, water supply had worsened, and snow pack was nonexistent. That’s when Gov. Jerry Brown mandated a 25 percent reduction of urban water use statewide, and the Long Beach’s commission declared a Stage 2 shortage.

In addition to the landscape watering restrictions, both Stage 1 and Stage 2 prohibit washing off sidewalks or driveways with water, washing cars with a ruing hose, watering to the point there is runoff and restricts watering to before 9 a.m. and after 4 p.m. on designated days.

Most of Califoia — 96 percent of the state — remains abnormally dry, and Long Beach has averaged only 6.5 inches of rain per year for the past five years. But water supply conditions have improved due to heavy snow and rainfall in Northe Califoia, and reservoir storage levels were 40 percent higher in April 2016 than they were in April 2015.

In recent years, conservation has become a way of life in Long Beach. Per capita water use in 2015 was only 60 percent of what it had been during the 1980s.

“We want to thank our residents and businesses for their tremendous work conserving over the past year, and remind them that responsible, efficient water use is still expected and required,” Frank Martinez, president of the Board of Water Commissioners, said in a statement Thursday. “Sustainability and water use efficiency are hallmarks of the Long Beach lifestyle.”

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Long Beach’s Water Department continues to offer incentives for water saving.

They include rebates of up to $180 for installing high efficiency toilets — $100 from the city, and up to $80 from the Metropolitan Water District’s “So Cal Water$mart” program. The combined rebate could cover the full cost of a toilet replacement, and up to $150 for high efficiency clothes washers. Residents must apply at both websites — www.saveourwaterrebates.com and www.socalwatersmart.com.

Homeowners and business owners can likewise receive up to $2,500 — $2.50 a square foot — when they replace their front lawns with drought-tolerant plants via the city’s popular Lawn to Garden program. That money comes from the city’s Water Department.

In passing the resolution, commissioners said they wanted the department to renew efforts to enforce the restrictions remaining in place as well as increase communication efforts.

Also, department aounced a partnership with tech company WaterSmart Software to provide custom water-saving tips.

WaterSmart, which already is in use in cities across the country, provides quarterly water usage reports that highlight rebate programs and recommends customized water-saving measures. The report also compares the customer’s water use with that of similar households.

The department is piloting the program with about 36,000 single-family residential customers.

Jeifer Rice Espstein is an editor with Gazette Newspapers.