Edison updates council on results of water rationing

Water usage is down considerably from one year ago said Southern California Edison representative Jeff Lawrence at Avalon’s City Council meeting on Dec. 16.

Lawrence is the project manager at Edison for the water rationing project on Catalina Island, and he reported the results of the water rationing project at this week’s meeting.

The current water level is at 275 acre feet in the Thompson reservoir and has been at that level for the past month, according to Lawrence.

Water usage is down considerably from one year ago said Southern California Edison representative Jeff Lawrence at Avalon’s City Council meeting on Dec. 16.

Lawrence is the project manager at Edison for the water rationing project on Catalina Island, and he reported the results of the water rationing project at this week’s meeting.

The current water level is at 275 acre feet in the Thompson reservoir and has been at that level for the past month, according to Lawrence.

The recent burst of rain has boosted hopes for many residents but Lawrence says consistent rain is needed to see an increase in water level at the reservoir.

The reason there hasn’t been a significant increase in the reservoir water level, despite the rain, is because the soil is not saturated to the level it needs to be so it can retain rainwater and also local vegetation is competing for rainwater, according to Lawrence.

However, the water usage  results brought about optimism for the future.

The month of November saw a 13.5 percent reduction in water usage in comparison to 2013.

What is more interesting is that since 2012, when water rationing first began, water usage has decreased by over 30 percent.

“I want to thank all the residents for the efforts,” Lawrence said.

“People are responding, and we are educating people on the water restrictions.”

Catalina residents have responded to the recent rationing system as the results show water usage in November and October is down to 101 acre feet in 2014 from the 152 acre feet usage of 2012.

Not everyone is getting the hang of the new system with the amount of water violations recorded but the results show those are declining also.

In the past month there have been about 7-8 water usage violations, said Lawrence.

Out of all of Edison’s clients on the Island only about nine percent have violated the phase two water rationing, which is roughly 95 customers.

Lawrence says the violations have tapered off in the past two months, but those who have more than one violation recorded have faced the consequence.

A second violation prompts the installation of a flow restricting device on the premises, and those 95 customers who have violated the water restrictions twice currently have such a device installed.

“How many of those violations are from commercial businesses?” asked Mayor Anni Marshall.

Lawrence replied that he did not have an exact number but the majority of violations stem from residences.

With the majority of residents complying with the current water restrictions, Lawrence believes that the next phase can be held off until the summer of 2015 or longer if the current pace is kept.

Lawrence also encouraged residents to report any water violations that they might see.  So far, five violations have been reported.