Conejo Post

The public water districts that I know, have all recently instigated new tiered water rates, with each usage tier having a higher rate than the previous one.  This is in response to the water crisis in California.  Here in SoCal, as you know, the Metropolitan Water District has cut back allocations to member districts at least 15%, starting in July.  In east Ventura County, the member district is Calleguas Municipal Water District (CMWD) which is the wholesaler that supplies all the smaller districts.  In the Los Angeles County part of the Conejo Valley and Calabasas, Las Virgenes Municipal Water District (LVMWD) is both the wholesale buyer and water district seller. 

Of course, the supply cuts end up meaning less water to all of us, and the districts have wanted to give a financial incentive with the tiers to cutback use.  There was also the realization that if usage for a district goes over allocation for the year from July 2009 to June 2010, the agency could be in for a huge fine from MET.

So, how do we reduce water use?  Las Virgenes  has a great, informative ad in the 9-24 Acorn.  It is on page 16, and titled, “Crank It Back!”  I would urge you to look it up if you still have your Acorn.  If you don’t still have the paper, or if you receive the Thousand Oaks Acorn, then pretty soon you can find it on www.LVMWD.com, according to Jeff Reinhardt of LVMWD (and former Mayor or Agoura Hills).

What the ad basically says is that it is now autumn and our gardens need less water, and tells why.  It asks that water users reduce irrigation to 2 times a week, and possibly shorten duration as well.

I am sugggesting that you look at this ad because the  message is good for everyone living in the Conejo, not just those of us in the LVMWD District. 

What is happening at Oak Park Water Service, where I am on the board of Triunfo Sanitation District, the agency that owns and operates it, is that we are asking residents to water less in the fall than in the summer, with increasing less use going into winter.  You can see a graph of the reduced water use we need in order for OPWS to meet the MET goals, at www.TriunfoSanitationDistrict.com.

What I know is that we are all in this water crisis together, and what every single one of us does, counts in the bigger picture. 

Posted by Janna Orkney