As Hermosa residents are told to reduce water consumption by 20 percent or face surcharges, some already-miserly water users are worried they will be unfairly penalized under the new system. They’re availing themselves of their only option to fight the fees — filing an appeal with the water company.
Bob Atkins, a Hermosa resident who owns a 4-bedroom, 3 and-a-half bathroom house, is one such resident. He said he and his wife have taken steps to reduce water consumption over the years — before the latest drought was declared a state of emergency — by installing low-flow toilets and washing machines and only running the dishwasher once or twice a week. He waters his plants sparingly and his main water indulgence is some grass on his front yard.
It all adds up to a household water consumption of about 16 CCF’s a month in the summer. (A CCF, or 100 cubic feet, is equivalent to 748 gallons). But due to mandates from the state, local water company Cal Water has told Atkins to cut consumption 20 percent this month, to about 13 CCF’s – or pay a surcharge.
He said the goal is just unreasonable. He already reached his 13 CCF limit last weekend, with time still left in the billing month. He’s now expecting a surcharge.
“I’m going to get surcharged. I know that … All of us who pitched in earlier are going to be nailed for surcharges,” Atkins said. “I did file an appeal, but there’s no guarantee they’ll agree [to it].”
All Cal Water customers now receive monthly water consumption targets, or “water budgets,” that are attached to bills. The budget number lets customers know how much water they can use the following month without incurring surcharges. The budgets allow residents to use 80 percent of the water they used in the same month in 2013.
If a Hermosa or Redondo customer exceeds their budget, they are charged $9.16 — twice the highest rate tier – for every additional CCF used. Customers can “bank” the water they do not use for future months. (The surcharges vary city-to-city. Redondo, which shares a water system with Hermosa, has the same surcharge).
Surcharges will begin to appear on bills with only June or July dates, but no May usage. Atkins is awaiting that first bill now. In the meantime, he filed an appeal two or three weeks ago. As of earlier this week, he was still waiting to hear back. The water company said it tries to answer all appeals within 30 days, and has hired and reorganized staff to answer the requests.
Yvonne Kingman, corporate communication manager at Cal Water, said the surcharges are intended to incentivize water conservation, rather than penalize people who were already doing their part. She said Cal Water will consider adjusting water budgets for customers who dramatically reduced their water usage years ago.
“The drought surcharge is to incentivize our customers,” Kingman said. “We need that mechanism in place … [But] people can appeal their water budgets for a number of reasons.”
Cal Water is under significant pressure to get customers in line. Following Gov. Jerry Brown’s emergency order to cut urban water usage by 25 percent, the state could fine the water company $10,000 for each day that it does not meet reduction goals in each water system by February of next year. Cal Water also has the ability to impose fines from $50 to $100 on residents that don’t comply with certain conservation rules.
The water company will put revenue from surcharges towards its conservation-related expenses, Kingman said, but the money won’t go towards company profits. There have been about 3,000 appeals statewide, out of Cal Water’s 478,000 customers, Kingman said. The number of appeals filed by Hermosa residents was not available.
Due to past efforts to conserve, Hermosa does not need to cut consumption as much as in other communities, such as Palos Verdes, which is being told to cut consumption by 36 percent. At least one city — Riverside, which was asked to reduce water use by 24 percent — is fighting the rules in court.
“Hermosa has done very good conservation work,” Carol Kwan, a board member of the West Basin Water District representing the Beach Cities, recently told the city council. “Hermosa has a very good report card.”
City services are also cutting water consumption, said city environmental analyst Kristy Morris said, by opting for more efficient sprinkler nozzles, reducing watering times for public spaces and using recycled water for irrigation. She said replacing the sprinkler nozzles alone should get the municipality to its 20 percent reduction goal.
The city also has the ability to enforce water restrictions that it put into place in June that include restricting lawn watering to two days a week. Other city water rules stipulate that restaurants must serve water by request only and that hotels and motels offer guests the option to not have linens and towels washed daily.
Morris said the city has so far been issuing warnings to residents, instead of fines.
“A lot of people aren’t familiar with the rules,” she said. “If we’re going back to a business or resident on multiple occasions, then we’ll have fines.”
For residents such as Atkins, who maintains citrus and eucalyptus trees, as well as flower bushes and some grass, the impact of the drought is beginning to really take root. If his appeal is not granted, he’s not sure that his water budget is big enough to keep the plants alive.
“Going lower means everything dies,” he said. “I’ve already had it as low as a I can and still maintain a halfway decent situation.”
