Water Supply

After more than a decade of service at the Crescenta Valley Water District, General Manager Michael Sovich is taking a position at another water agency. At the end of June, Sovich will leave CVWD to serve as manager of resources and operations for the Three Valleys Municipal Water District, a Claremont-based wholesale agency that distributes water to about 15 cities, water districts and companies. Sovich will oversee operations of a small water treatment plant, work on water supply issues and conjunctive use programs, as well as demand reduction programs.

Charles Rich He'll be glad to toss the rosin bag over the outfield fence in exchange for a jug of ice cold water. That way, the ice water can properly circulate through the veins of Hoover High sophomore pitcher/outfielder John La. Just make sure to leave the water behind the pitcher's mound, and things like pinpoint control might work in La's favor. La might have a say -- and a drink of water -- when Hoover (18-6) meets host Mission Viejo (18-8)

At this time two years ago, I wrote an article in this newspaper regarding Crescenta Valley Water District's voluntary water conservation program that the board of directors adopted, asking the residents of La Crescenta and Montrose to conserve water. Our goal was to reduce water use by 25%, to reduce the risk and severity of water shortage. Although our voluntary water conservation program has increased awareness locally, it has been only marginally effective in reducing customer demand.

The Crescenta Valley Water District will have to raise rates to accommodate an increase in the cost of its imported water, officials said. "Water is becoming more scarce in the West," said Mike Sovich, CVWD general manager. "It (water supply) has got to come from somewhere." Sovich said CVWD gets its water from the Foothill Metropolitan Water District, which purchases its water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. The MWD board of directors approved a 4.4 percent increase in the cost of imported water at a Tuesday meeting.

Don Froelich, Glendale's Water Services administrator, is certainly correct in waiting for guidance from the EPA and Department of Health Services regarding the extremely tiny amount of chromium 6 in the Glendale water supply. This tiny nine parts per billion (with a "b") of chromium 6 in our water supply has no effect whatsoever on anybody but the environmental dingbats, who want extreme measures to control nonexistent problems in the U.S. economy.

Last year, I was critical of the Crescenta Valley Water District when we were faced with a water shortage. The water supply to Southern California was adequate, but CVWD's facilities did not have capacity to transfer enough water from the Foothill Municipal Water District. Fortunately, we had a cool summer without any major fires in this area, and we had no water shortage. It appears that CVWD is taking the right steps to improve its water supply.

Janine Marnien The Crescenta Valley Water District has prepared an emergency plan in case customer demand ever becomes greater than the supply. While district staff is ready to put the plan into action if necessary, some district officials do not anticipate needing to enact it. "It has never happened before," board member Vernon Valantine said. "Even during the shortage of the early '80s and '90s, we did not have to put in any Draconian measures."

Janine Marnien A new law aimed at preventing acts of bioterrorism could mean more studies and, ultimately, more security for the Crescenta Valley Water District. The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Response Act signed by President George W. Bush in June requires all water agencies to conduct vulnerability assessments to determine the safety of their water supplies. "We do testing on a routine basis anyway," General Manager Mike Sovich said.

In a recent article May 31 and Community Commentary May 22, published in the News--Press, Larry McReynolds provides his opinion that a 25% reduction in water consumption is not a realistic goal, based on his experience at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. However, Crescenta Valley Water District customers nearly achieved such a reduction in 1991-92, near the end of the last drought, when water use dropped 21% after appropriate public information and media attention.

Crescenta Valley Water District (CVWD) customers are being asked to reduce their water consumption by 25% because the district has a water shortage caused by the lack of rain this past winter. They are further being threatened that if they don't conserve enough water, the CVWD may ration water. While I concur completely that customers need to do everything reasonable to conserve water, reducing consumption by 25% is not feasible unless lawns are let die. The city of Los Angeles has rationed water twice over the past 50 years, and although there were significant reductions, it could not achieve a 25% reduction in water use even with the threat of shutting off water if consumers did not comply.