The Long Beach Water Department put an end to many water use restrictions after four years on the brink of a water shortage.
On June 14, 2007, the Long Beach Water Department put the Water Supply Shortage Plan into effect, calling for restrictions on residents and businesses.
Water reservoirs are at the highest levels they have been in years due to heavy rain, and, therefore, many restrictions have been repealed.
This means restaurants are no longer prohibited from serving water to customers until it is asked for and residents are not restricted to watering their lawn on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
“We feel there’s almost no chance of a shortage for a couple of years,” said Matthew Lyons, director of planning and conservation at the Long Beach Water Department.
Cal State Long Beach has also contributed to the water-saving movement.
The university planted drought-tolerant plants, reduced landscape with high irrigation needs and installed storm water filtration systems.
In addition, the installation of 300 waterless urinals and no-touch or low flow faucets saves over 10.5 million gallons of water and $42,000 a year in water cost for CSULB, according to information provided by Physical Planning and Facilities Management.
Switching to recycled water for campus irrigation saves CSULB an additional $90,000 per year.
However, a growing population and expanding economy may pose future problems for the city of Long Beach.
“It’s almost certain that we’re going to have more shortages in the future than we have had,” Lyons said.
A permanent water-flow reduction from three Southern California suppliers — the Colorado River aqueduct, the Owens Valley aqueduct and the State Water Project — will result in less water per capita than in the past for the city.
Despite the low probability of a water shortage, there are still slight water use restrictions in place.
“You can’t just stand there and hose down your concrete, you can’t water your lawn until there’s water running off the street,” Lyons said. “Almost all of the permanent restrictions have to do with an abuse of water.”
Most people are aware of the measures that need to be taken and are careful not to waste.
“People should take shorter showers and fix leaking faucets,” said Veronica Menjivar, a Cal State Long Beach healthcare administration major.
Lyons said he would most like to see people getting rid of as much of their grass lawns as possible.
However, replacing grass requires large amounts of water to maintain. Water-efficient plants reduce the need to import water as well as reduce polluted urban runoff that flows into the coastal zone.
The Long Beach Water Department offers a $2.50 rebate for every square foot of lawn removed.
Those who pull up their old grass can expect a lower water, power and sewage bill, too.
For a complete list of water use restrictions and creative water saving ideas, visit The Long Beach Water Department’s website.