L.A. takes gentle approach to conserving water during drought

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Patterns are created and reflected from water receding on the bed of Folsom Lake. As the state ends the fourth-driest water year on record with no guarantee of significant rain and snow this winter, Californians face the prospect of stricter rationing and meager irrigation deliveries. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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A translucent freshwater bryozoa is illuminated by the rising sun on the receding banks of Folsom Lake, which was 35% of capacity as of Sept. 30. One of the lake’s five boat ramps remains in operation and boaters are restricted to 5 mph. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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The effects of California’s ongoing drought are evident at Diamond Valley Lake in Hemet as shells, once under water, lie in the soil of recently exposed banks. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Severe drought conditions reveal more than 600 empty docks sitting on dry, cracked dirt at Folsom Lake Marina, which is one of the largest inland marinas in California. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Extremely low levels of water flowing through meandering streams of the east fork of the San Gabriel River in the Angeles National Forest show the effects of the prolonged drought. The water flows into the San Gabriel Dam and the Morris Dam, further downstream. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Earthen patterns are left behind from the receding waters of the drought-stricken Pine Flat Reservoir near Sanger. California’s third year of drought has depleted the reservoir, one of the largest in California, to 10% percent of capacity. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Earthen patterns are left behind from the receding waters of Pine Flat Reservoir. The reservoir, about an hour northeast of Fresno, sits in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada just outside the boundary of Kings Canyon National Park. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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The sunrise illuminates the receding waters of Pine Flat Reservoir, one of California’s most severely depleted dams. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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The remnants of the old Trimmer jail at Trimmer Springs are visible after most of Pine Flat Reservoir dried up. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Receding waters leave a pattern in the sand behind at Pine Flat Reservoir. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Earthen patterns are left behind from the receding waters of Pine Flat Reservoir. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Rocks and patterns in the ground are left behind as water recedes in a creek that used to flow into the drought-depleted Pine Flat Reservoir. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Patterns in the earth are left behind from the receding waters of the Pine Flat Reservoir, seen on Oct. 14. The reservoir has been depleted to about 10% of capacity. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Water rings mark receding levels of the Pine Flat Reservoir. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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A tree branch sticks out of the shallow water at the drought-plagued Pine Flat Reservoir. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Sunrise highlights patterns in the sand that remain after the water receded at the drought-stricken Pine Flat Reservoir. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Patterns in the ground indicate previous water levels at the drought-shrunken Pine Flat Reservoir. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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The ground around the Pine Flat Reservoir shows the effects of receding water as drought continues to plague the area. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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As drought shrinks the Pine Flat Reservoir, patterns in the ground mark where water once was. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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The surrounding land is testimony to the effects of drought on the depleted Pine Flat Reservoir. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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At sunrise, wind pushes the remaining water to splash up on the banks of the drought-depleted Pine Flat Reservoir. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Sunrise highlights patterns in the sand amid puddles at the drought-stricken Pine Flat Reservoir. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Sunrise illuminates the cracked, receding banks and the dropping water levels of Lake San Antonio in Monterey County. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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The effects of California’s ongoing drought are evident in the dry, cracked banks from dropping water levels at Diamond Valley Lake in Hemet. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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The dry, cracked lake bed due to extreme drought conditions at Lake San Antonio. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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The dry, cracked earthen lake bed reveals the extreme drought conditions at Lake San Antonio. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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A lone buoy floats in the shallows as the sunrise reflects off the dropping water levels and receding banks of Lake San Antonio. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Sunset illuminates the receding banks of Lake San Antonio. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Sunset over Lake San Antonio in Monterey County. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Dry, cracked earth and receding banks at Lake San Antonio in Monterey County, which is at 4% capacity. The 16-mile lake now stretches under five miles. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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A lone blue heron forages for food on the receding banks of Diamond Valley Lake in Hemet. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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The sunrise illuminates waves rolling ashore and moss gathering on weeds along the receding banks of Diamond Valley Lake in Hemet. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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At Folsom Lake, 600 empty docks sit on dry, cracked dirt at one of the largest inland marinas in California. Levels at Southern California’s big regional reservoir, Diamond Valley Lake, are falling a foot a week. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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The sun sets over the declining Folsom Lake. The state’s driest water year was 1977. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Sunrise at lake San Antonio, which is about 4 percent of capacity. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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The effects of California’s ongoing drought are evident, shown by a pattern of rings on the dam at Diamond Valley Lake in Hemet. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Receding water levels at Lake San Antonio, in Monterey County reveal a lone tree amidst dry, cracked earth. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Wayne Carlton, 73, of Corona, stays cool by fishing in the shallow water of Lake Perris. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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An animal’s footprint is molded into dry, cracked earth in a dry riverbed near a Castaic Lake bridge. Extremely low levels of water at sunrise at Castaic Lake and reveal the effects of the prolonged drought March 8, 2014.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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A trickle of water receding into Lake Shasta at dusk reveals signs of serious drought conditions June 22, 2014. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Severe drought conditions are evident as hundreds of houseboats are dwarfed by steep banks that show the water level down 160 feet from the high water mark at Bidwell Canyon Marina on Lake Oroville in June. Officials say that Lake Oroville is only at 43% of capacity. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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An animal’s footprints are revealed amid extremely low levels of water trickling through meandering streams of the San Gabriel River in March. The water also flows into the Morris Dam, farther downstream, holding back water from the San Gabriel Mountain watershed. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Extremely low levels of water flow through meandering streams of the San Gabriel River in March, feeding into the San Gabriel Dam in the Angeles National Forest. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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A pre-dawn glow illuminates a narrow, shallow meandering stream flowing in San Gabriel River’s East Fork in the Angeles National Forest, which reveal the effects of the prolonged drought March 12, 2014.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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A white rocky ring reveals low levels of water in the Morris Dam, just north of Azusa in the Angeles National Forest, reflecting the effects of the prolonged drought March 12, 2014.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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A moth falls victim to thick algae along the low banks of Lake Hemet on June 3, 2014. Lake Hemet, part of the San Bernardino National Forest, is a water storage reservoir in the San Jacinto Mountains in Riverside County. It is owned and operated by the Lake Hemet Municipal Water District. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Puddles of water are all that remain in this photo taken March of the San Gabriel River’s West Fork in the Angeles National Forest. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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A dead fish lies in rocks and algae along the low banks of Lake Hemet on June 3, 2014. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Pastel colors at dawn reveal a receding Lake Cachuma in Santa Barbara County, due to California’s sustained drought conditions. Plywood planks are used to reach the the docks at the marina, which are hundreds of feet from the high-water shoreline. As the lake continues to recede, workers move the dock farther away from shore. Lake Cachuma, a rain-dependent lake, was about 40% of capacity as of Feb. 26, 2014. Lake Cachuma diverts a significant flow downstream to help maintain habitat for the federally endangered steelhead trout that once claimed the Santa Ynez River and its tributaries. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Dry ruts in a island reveal where the water level used to be at Lake Shasta due to serious drought conditions. Lake Shasta is at 31% of capacity due to the ongoing drought and is likely to get worse.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Lake bottom debris are revealed as a narrow body of water recedes into Lake Shasta at dusk due to serious drought conditions June 22, 2014. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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At sunrise, traces of water in a dry riverbed near a Castaic Lake bridge. Extremely low levels of water at Castaic Lake reveal the effects of the prolonged drought March 8, 2014. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Severe drought conditions are evident as dried bark peels in the hot sun where water levels are down 160 feet from the high water mark at Lake Oroville June 21, 2014. Officials say Lake Oroville is at 43% capacity and likely to get worse, but is not as bad as the drought of 1976-77.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Extremely low levels of water at sunset at Castaic Lake reveal the effects of the prolonged drought March 8, 2014. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Shells, rocks and sand are exposed amid extremely low water levels at Castaic Lake Recreation Area and reveal the effects of the prolonged drought March 8, 2014. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Fallen tree branches and a narrow body of water receding into Lake Shasta at dusk reveal signs of serious drought conditions June 22, 2014. Lake Shasta is at 37% of capacity due to the ongoing drought and is likely to get worse.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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A sunken barge is revealed as water recedes into Lake Shasta at dusk due to serious drought conditions June 22, 2014. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Little rainfall and summer heat leave patterns of branches and cracked, dry mud under a bridge of the South Fork of the San Jacinto River, which feeds into Lake Hemet June 3, 2014. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Dry, cracked riverbank patterns in an area previously underwater, reveals extremely low water levels at Lake Piru and the effects of the prolonged drought May 7, 2014. Lake Piru, an artificial lake located in Los Padres National Forest of Ventura County, depends upon rainfall. The Santa Felicia Dam was constructed on Piru Creek, which is a tributary of the Santa Clara River. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Dead weeds and dry, cracked riverbank patterns in an area previously underwater reveal extremely low water levels at Lake Piru and the effects of the prolonged drought May 7, 2014. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Algae grows in patterns, revealing extremely low water levels downstream in Piru Creek trickling from Lake Piru, showing the effects of the prolonged drought May 8, 2014. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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A small stream is now just a trench, revealing extremely low water levels at Lake Piru, showing the effects of the prolonged drought May 7, 2014. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Extremely low levels of water flowing through meandering streams of East Fork of the San Gabriel River in the Angeles National Forest show the effects of the prolonged drought March 12, 2014. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Patterns form in algae along the low banks of Lake Hemet on June 3, 2014. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Cracked, white earth remains as water continues to recede at Borax Lake, the site of first borax mine in the United States, June 23, 2014 in Clearlake, Calif. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Dusk falls as a lone boater heads out on Lake Shasta, near the Lake Shasta Dam amid serious drought conditions June 22, 2014. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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The low water levels at Lake Shasta reveal signs of serious drought conditions June 22, 2014. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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A boater speeds under the New Bidwell Bar Suspension Bridge as severe drought conditions show the water down 160 feet from the high water mark at Lake Oroville on June 21, 2014. Officials say Lake Oroville is at 43% capacity and is likely to get worse, but is not as bad as the drought of 1976-77.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Severe drought conditions are evident by dry, cracked earth, ruts and the receding water, which was down 160 feet from the high water mark at Lake Oroville June 21, 2014. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Little rainfall and summer heat have left little water in the mostly dried up Hurkey Creek, which feeds into Lake Hemet on June 3, 2014. Lake Hemet, part of the San Bernardino National Forest, is a water storage reservoir in the San Jacinto Mountains in Riverside County. It is owned and operated by the Lake Hemet Municipal Water District. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Little rainfall and summer heat have left a pattern of weeds and algae in the South Fork of the San Jacinto River, which feeds into Lake Hemet on June 3, 2014. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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A dead fish lays on the bank of Lake Hemet on June 3, 2014. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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A water strider crosses a puddle that remains in the mostly dry Hurkey Creek, which feeds into Lake Hemet on June 3, 2014. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Dusk falls on the receding Lake Shasta and the Bridge Bay Marina, revealing signs of serious drought conditions June 22, 2014. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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A pre-dawn glow illuminates a rusty staircase showing previous water levels at Lake Shasta, revealing signs of serious drought conditions June 22, 2014. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Sunrise illuminates previous signs of life amid the dry, steep banks due to drought conditions at Lake Shasta on June 22, 2014. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Severe drought conditions are evident as a lone houseboat is dwarfed by steep banks that show the water level down 160 feet from the high water mark at Lake Oroville on June 21, 2014. Receding water levels are revealing prehistoric and historic artifacts such as bedrock mortars and projectile points made by the Maidu people and remnants of placer and dredge mining that thrived here after John Bidwell discovered gold in 1848.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

By Hector Becerra and Matt Stevens

Aug. 18, 2014 9:15 PM PT

For all the tough talk about cracking down on water wasters, Los Angeles and other California cities are choosing gentle coaxing over costly fines.

Los Angeles officials announced Monday that they are beefing up their water-wasting patrols but will keep their policy of educating and warning violators rather than fining them.

New state rules allow fines up to $500 per day for water wasters, and local authorities have their own penalties. But Max Gomberg, the State Water Resources Control Board senior environmental scientist, said relatively few fines have been handed out.

“Usually, just getting a notice is going to take care of whatever the issue is,” Gomberg said. “The citations are reserved for either people who are oblivious or simply refuse to help out.”

Santa Cruz, whose creeks and local water sources are drying up, is often cited as one of the state’s most aggressive cities when it comes to fining water violators. But the city has established a “water school” modeled after traffic school, allowing those who are caught using too much water to work off their fine by attending class.

Sacramento, another city hit hard by the drought, has deployed extra staff to patrol the streets, but officials hope warnings will do the trick.

During the first six months of 2014, Los Angeles’ Department of Water and Power received 1,400 reports of violations and handed out 863 warning letters.

But so far this year, no one has been fined.

Until now, the DWP has assigned one inspector to drive around handling complaints of water wasting in a city of 4 million people.

The DWP announced Monday that it now has four water-use inspectors who roam the city in specially marked cars.

Officials said history has shown them a more gentle approach works.

During 16 months of mandatory water rationing in 2008 and 2009, the Moulton Niguel Water District in south Orange County created a dedicated enforcement staff of 10 looking for waste. During that time, the district sent out 17,588 violation letters and issued 659 fines, spokeswoman Kelly Winsor said.

Despite all the tickets, water consumption did not drop, she said.

“It was very time-consuming, very costly for the district and it didn’t sit well with customers,” she said. “There was a lot of push-back.”

The district looked for a different way to curb water use, and by 2011, it overhauled its rate structure. Now customers are given a certain allocation of water, and penalized heavily if they exceed it.

Los Angeles is in Phase 2 of a mandatory water conservation ordinance. Among other restrictions, that means watering no more than three times a week and never on Saturdays and not being able to wash a car unless one uses a self-closing, water shut-off nozzle.

A dry fall and winter in California would bring Phase 3, which would result in much harsher restrictions.

Phase 3 would prohibit washing cars unless it’s at a commercial carwash. Residents would be allowed to water their lawns once a week. Failure to abide by the rules after getting a warning could result in fines of up to $300 for residential customers and $600 for commercial customers.

“We won’t be so friendly and just educational anymore,” said Rick Silva, who until now was the DWP’s lone roving inspector.

Silva said that among the most common violations are people who irrigate on the wrong days as well as those who water their lawn excessively, causing runoff into the streets.

A greater focus has been on outdoor water waste in part because of technological advances indoors, such as low-flow toilets and water-efficient appliances.

Stephanie Pincetl, director of UCLA’s California Center for Sustainable Communities, said studies have found that mandatory water restrictions are more effective at reducing water usage than voluntary restrictions.

Still, she said simply adding so-called water police may help “reduce water usage again, but that’s not a long-term change.” What’s needed, Pincetl said, is a longer lasting change in the water use culture.

This drought “is not a temporary state for the state of California. This is something we’ve experienced before,” she said. “This happens to be the worst in 100 years, but it’s not something that’s unique. How do we respond over time so that we’re not in this crisis, reactive mode?”

Last month, state regulators found that there was an 8% increase in water use in Southern California. The precise number was quickly disputed, with water agencies like Santa Ana asserting that their water use had not increased anywhere near the state’s numbers.

The DWP had a 9% increase in May compared to the average for the month in three prior years. But it touted a dramatic decrease over the long term, with Los Angeles using the same amount of water now that it did 40 years ago, despite having a much larger population.

But with a worsening drought, no one disputes more has to be done. In the meantime, water officials have gotten some help from social media.

A #droughtshaming hashtag on Twitter has become a popular way for strangers to call out a sprinkler that is raining water or a pipe that leaks. The viral ice bucket challenge — in which people get doused with buckets of ice water on video to raise awareness for ALS — has been a high-profile target of the Twitter campaign.

Then there was the spectacular rupture of a DWP pipe that saw 20 million gallons of water flood parts of UCLA and Westwood on live TV. Even though the DWP has a leak rate half the national average, according to DWP spokeswoman Michelle Vargas, the utility got some guff for that in light of its push for Angelenos to conserve.

“We did get phone calls and emails,” Silva said. “They wanted to know if the DWP would get fined.”

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