Agoura, Calabasas water alert continues

Calabasas and Agoura Hills were reminded of the local water crisis when Jeff Reinhardt, Las Virgenes Municipal Water District (LVMWD) customer service and public affairs manager, gave recent presentations to each city and discussed the impact of the drought.

In February, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency regarding California's water supply. Reserves have been steadily declining.

Two-thirds of the state's water comes from Northern California, but two-thirds of the population is in Southern California.

The Department of Water Resources reports that Lake Shasta is at 54 percent capacity when it's usually at 70 percent this time of year. Lake Oroville is at 48 percent.

In addition, limitations on the amount of water pumped south were put into effect to protect an endangered Bay Delta fish species.

The 2009 water allocation for the Las Virgenes region is at 20 percent of normal levels, and current precipitation levels are 80 percent of normal, Reinhardt said.

"We're in the third year of a fairly nasty drought," Reinhardt said. "We're still not of the woods yet," he said.

Las Virgenes customers use the majority of water on irrigation—69 percent, according to Reinhardt's report.

"We can do better than that," Reinhardt said.

Customers will be forced to do better.

Water use budgets will be implemented throughout the Las Virgenes region. Outdoor budgets will be based on parcel size and the time of the season.

Violations will warrant a warning letter followed by fines of $50 to $250 and a restriction or termination of water services.

LVMWD's mandatory water conservation measures went into effect March 4. The measures, which also apply to Hidden Hills, Westlake Village and adjacent unincorporated areas of L.A. County, include no outdoor irrigation between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. and within 24 hours of rainfall in excess of 1 inch.

Reinhardt advises homes and businesses simply to turn off their automatic sprinklers on rainy days.

Agoura Hills Councilmember Bill Koehler said the public—especially those residents who live on hillsides—should be aware about the wastefulness of urban water runoff. Calabasas City Councilmember Dennis Washburn urged residents to keep "all eyes on properties."

"It's not to be spies but to be friends," Washburn said. "We are helping one another save energy, save water and save the pollutants that run off of yards and driveways. Then it's the responsibility of all our cities to clean up after the fact."

Every step of the way, all the water you save, saves you in about 10 different ways," Washburn said.

The public can report violations by calling (818) 251-2180.

Stephanie Bertholdo contributed to this story.