Los Angeles County’s water conservation plan would calculate a single monthly target for most residential water customers by subtracting the reduction percentage from average 2013 usage data, reported the L.A. Times. Users who go over the monthly target would pay double or triple rates. Opponents of the plan, scheduled for a Tuesday vote by county supervisors, said the system is unfair to those with large families because the target does not adjust for current usage or number of people in the household.
Andrew Chadd lives in Antelope Valley, where residents would have to reduce usage by 32 percent, and said he would have to cut his seven-person family’s water use by 70 percent to meet the proposed mandate. “We were trying to figure out … how we can do this and who’s going to tell the kids that they can only use the bathroom on Monday and Friday?” he said last week to county officials at a meeting, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Gary Hildebrand, deputy director of the county’s public works department, told the L.A. Times there would be an appeals process for special circumstances and that the system would reward people who are already conserving and give heavier users the option to pay more. “Water’s becoming more scarce in the drought, and when you have a scarce commodity, it’s going to become more costly,” Hildebrand said, according to the L.A. Times.
The devastating four-year drought has inspired numerous methods to try and cut the state’s water usage, including rewards for removing lawns or installing water-saving appliances. Recently, celebrities such as Barbra Streisand, Conan O’Brien and Lady Gaga have attempted to raise awareness about the seriousness of the drought, the AP reported. Los Angeles County’s proposed method would reportedly be the first of its kind in the state.
Article Appeared @http://www.ibtimes.com/california-drought-2015-70-percent-water-use-cuts-proposed-large-families-properties-1946797