The Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District has officially signaled that it intends to cut water deliveries to its customers by 10 percent starting in July. The water wholesaler’s board still needs to ratify that recommendation when it meets next Tuesday.
San Diego’s Water Department had been planning for a 20 percent cut. If Metropolitan approves its plan, San Diego would only have to cut 6-7 percent.
City water officials have said they’d reduce the amount of conservation they’re calling for residents to achieve outdoors if cuts weren’t as bad as projected. The city’s plan, which hasn’t been approved by the City Council, calls for residents to cut their outdoor use by 45 percent, their indoor use by 5 percent. The cut would be based on their historic consumption.
In theory, that 45 percent reduction would be lowered. The city hasn’t specified by how much.
If the city only has to reduce consumption by 6-7 percent, they’ll have to decide whether they need to make a mandatory cut or whether residents will voluntarily do it. San Diegans voluntarily cut consumption by 5 percent last year.
So what will the city do? The Mayor’s Office isn’t saying. Darren Pudgil, the chief spokesman for Mayor Jerry Sanders, hasn’t returned calls today about this. The city has stopped commenting on my water-related inquiries since this story ran a week ago examining some of the city’s claims about its water-cuts strategy.