Rain helps but drought continues

Southern California was hammered by two separate rainstorms within the last week but local and state officials are still cautioning that the state is still in a drought.

“California’s drought-like conditions should be considered somewhat permanent in nature, and conservation of water resources continuously encouraged,” said Culver City City Manager John Nachbar.

Nachbar noted that will Southern California was inundated with rain recently, Northern California has received the majority of the state’s rainfall in December and this month. “Also, with the effects of climate change, it is likely that California will suffer from ongoing statewide water issues,” he added.

According to Stuart Seto of the National Weather Service in Oxnard, Los Angeles set a one- day record for rainfall at Los Angeles International Airport on Jan. 22 with 2.94 inches of rain. “The previous record was 1.94 inches in 1983,” Seto said.

Unfortunately Culver City was not able to capture a great deal of the rainwater, said Public Works Director Charles Herbertson, except in the city’s rain gardens at Ballona Creek, Baldwin Avenue and near the city’ municipal yard and transfer station. “This water is captured by these projects and infiltrated into the ground where it is naturally filtered and may eventually enter a ground water aquifer,” Herbertson explained.

Culver City has relaxed the water conservation elements of its water ordinance and has adapted its water restriction to those similar to the Dept. of Water and Power and Golden State Water Co., its primary water supplier.

Mayor Jim Clarke said city leaders will take a “wait and see” approach” before exploring any further adjustments to water conservation and water regulations. “It is on our radar but I think we need to be prepared to recognize there may be droughts in our future and we should implement and/or maintain good conservation measures wherever possible,” Clarke said.

Culver City is set to improve its rainwater capture systems with multiple new projects, Herbertson said. One of the larger stormwater capture initiatives will be located on the Costco site on Washington Boulevard. Another proposal would collect water and infiltrate it into the landscaped area where the bicycle and pedestrian paths are located along Culver Boulevard between Elenda Street and Sepulveda Boulevard.

The passage of local stormwater capture ballot initiative Measure CW will play a major role in the city’s future plans to improve its rainwater runoff infrastructure, Herbertson said, although the city will not be able to collect revenues from Measure CW until the next fiscal year.

The ballot measure, also known as the Clean Water, Clean Beaches initiative, received 74% of the vote on Nov. 8, far surpassing its two-thirds threshold. It will generate $ 2million a year for water quality improvement through a $99 annual parcel tax.

“Measure CW is instrumental in these projects moving forward. Without the funding provided by Measure CW these and other future projects such as greet streets would probably not be possible due to limited city funding,” Herbertson said.

All city leaders noted that reducing water usage should still be at the forefront of city officials as well as residents’ minds, despite the recent rain.

“In addition to these projects, residents should be encouraged to continue to conserve water. We have a lot of rain now but with our climate, water shortages are an ever present threat and we need to plan for the next drought,” Herbertson recommended. “The best way is to make the changes we have already adopted permanent, e.g. changing from grass lawns to drought tolerant plantings.”

City Hall encourages residents to visit at http://www.culvercity.org/live/home-property/water-convervation for conservation tips and information.

Gary Walker contributed to this story.