Southern California Water District to Cut Supplies to 26 Jurisdictions and Increase Water Price as Much as Four-Fold

Even before Gov. Jerry Brown announced his disastrous 25% mandatory urban water usage cutback last week, the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) of Southern California was working on plans that will reduce water supplies to 26 jurisdictions and jack up water prices by as much as four-fold. The only scientific word for such a policy is genocide.

The MWD board is expected to vote on the rationing plans next week. The board will decide the size of the cutback, which could range from 10% to 20%, or 200,000 to 400,000 acre-feet less than MWD typically delivers. (An acre-foot of water is calculated to be enough to supply two households for one year.) The rationing, which would go into effect July 1, has been imposed only twice before.

Local agencies that need more water than the MWD allocation will be required to pay punitive surcharges of up to $2,960 an acre-foot for the extra deliveries.

In areas where people have not already sufficiently shortened their shower times and put enough bricks in their toilets tanks, water districts will have to impose further restrictions and boost local rates to avoid financial penalties the MWD will impose on “excess” demand.

Those charged with cutting the water recognize that it is a no-win “solution,” even in the short term. Jeffrey Kightlinger, Metropolitan’s general manager, told Los Angeles Times, “With prudent management, we’re good for another two, three years of drought.” If the drought persists beyond that, his agency would have to make more draconian cuts, he said.