Construction has been halted in some parts of the Antelope Valley over the inability to provide new homes, and industrial and commercial developments with an adequate supply of water. Since November, the Los Angeles County Waterworks District No. 40 has refused to issue “will serve” letters guaranteeing water service. The district serves much of the Valley, including the city of Lancaster and parts of the City of Palmdale. That refusal stalled the construction of 1,000 new single-family homes in two projects in Lancaster and has developers thinking twice about starting new projects. While not at a crisis stage yet, the water shortage is a priority of the cities, developers and agencies responsible for the water supply. “There are currently a number of groups working together or individual agencies looking for additional sources of water whether it’s here in Southern California, through Northern California acquisition or even potentially outside the state if there is water on the market,” said Gretchen Gutierrez, executive director of the Building Industry Association chapter for the Antelope Valley. Water finds its way to the valley from melting snow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains transported south through the Los Angeles aqueduct. Lower snowfalls have produced less water in years past. Additionally, a December court order restricts water flow by slowing pumping from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to protect the endangered delta smelt, an indigenous species of fish. As that order affects water delivery to all areas south of Stockton, the Antelope Valley has found itself in competition for other sources. Since the waterworks district and individual developers cannot negotiate for water on their own, it is up to the Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency and two other state water project contractors serving the area to do that. District 40 receives 60,000 acre-feet of water per year from AVEK, with another 20,000 acre-feet coming from groundwater. An acre-foot of water is 325,851 U.S. gallons the amount needed to meet the needs of a family of four for one year. Combining the two sources just about meets the demand for the area served by District 40, said Adam Ariki, deputy assistant public works director for the county. A presentation by Ariki for the Building Industry Association in February and again in March for AVEK showed that by 2035 demand for water would outstrip supply by nearly 30,000 acre-feet. In the short term, Ariki looks to force a dialogue between AVEK, developers, and Palmdale and Lancaster to find a solution. “I always tell people that it’s not going to be the end of the world but we’ve got to work harder between now and, say, three years down the road when the cycle turns up so we are positioned to be able to issue the ‘will serve’ letters,” Ariki said. Getting into the current situation didn’t happen overnight and getting out won’t happen overnight either, said AVEK General Manager Russ Fuller. Drawing down on groundwater sources over an 80-year period contributed to the shortage but the final straw, in Fuller’s view, was the court decision limiting pumping to protect the delta smelt. In the short term, the agency will receive 125 acre-feet through a state program in which excess supply from other water contractors is made available. It is also in talks to obtain 6,000 to 8,000 acre-feet from rice farmers north of the delta. Adoption in January of the Antelope Valley Integrated Regional Water Management Plan allows for applying for up to $25 million in state funds for multi-jurisdictional water-related projects. If the Valley were to receive that money, the drawback would be the length of time it takes to design, get approval and build. For any water projects, the process can take between five and 15 years, Gutierrez said. “We are behind the curve here in the Antelope Valley in terms of what we needed to have done in order to continue to expand based upon our continuing growth in the area,” Gutierrez said. Importing additional water is just one of three parts of the plan, with conservation efforts and recycling water the other two. Upgrades at two sewage treatment plants in Lancaster and Palmdale will allow for water from the plants to be used for irrigation and landscaping. Use of that recycled water should reduce the need for imported water. In Palmdale, strict requirements on using drought-tolerant landscaping will be tightened further, meaning commercial developers will need to use artificial turf and new homes will be limited in the amount of natural turf they can install, said Director of Public Works Leon Swain. Lancaster, too, is looking at stricter landscaping standards and anticipates being able to provide recycled water for municipal purposes in May, said Randy Williams, director of public works. A more ambitious project by the city involves refilling groundwater aquifers with a combination of potable water, treated wastewater and collected storm water. It is anticipated that 2,500 acre-feet a year can be recharged for the four years of the pilot project. Once approved, Williams said 50,000 acre-feet could go into the ground. “Once we complete the pilot we envision this will open door to all water purveyors in the Antelope Valley to do the same thing,” Williams said. All involved admit the shrinking water supply did not come as a surprise. Just last June, water was shut off to construction sites for six weeks. Gutierrez estimates there has been a halt in water supply in the Valley at least once a year for the past four years. Swain estimates the Valley has confronted water issues for the past 20 years but only in the last two has a real effort been made to find solutions. The integrated management plan was completed to get the region’s arms around all the issues, something that hadn’t happened before, Swain said. Fuller calls the current situation a “day of reckoning.” “We didn’t get into this situation over a short period of time,” Fuller said, “and we won’t get out of it in a short period of time.” At-A-Glance Thirsty Antelope Valley Size: 2,200 square miles Palmdale Population: 145,468 Lancaster Population: 143,818 2008 Allocation from the Water Project (in acre feet): Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency: 49,490 (141,400 requested) Palmdale Water District: 7,455 (21,300 requested) Littlerock Creek Irrigation District: 805 (2,300 requested)
