The district on Monday warned that, in the event of a dry winter, its shortened supply increases the likelihood of mandatory rationing.
While Glendale and Crescenta Valley officials say rationing could be implemented as early as this winter in Burbank, the prospect of rationing is further in the future, said Ron Davis, Burbank Water and Power general manager.
“We probably aren’t looking at rationing right away, but maybe in one to three years,” Davis said. “Since 1991, the last major drought here in Southern California, there’s been a tenfold increase in storage of water both above and below ground, so we have a lot of storage compared to back then.”
The indefinite closure of the delta and resulting supply shortage is in dire need of a political solution in Sacramento, he said.
“This is a political problem, it’s not a local problem,” he said.
But because a political solution is likely far off, Burbank Water and Power will continue its efforts to encourage voluntary conservation, he said.
Glendale Water & Power and the Crescenta Valley Water District have also been pushing volunteer conservation efforts in the region to meet a 10% usage reduction goal, but that goal has not been met, officials said.
Glendale ratepayers reduced demand in January by 9%, but only held back enough in August to reduce usage by less than 5% from the same month last year, said Dan Waters, Glendale Water & Power interim director.
“Based on numbers we saw last month, I’m not too encouraged,” Waters said.
The increased August consumption does not necessarily mean that ratepayers slacked off compared with the previous month, he said.
The data more likely reflects warmer conditions this August compared with last, he said.
