Valley fails to meet water goals for Sept.

The Coachella Valley is still not saving enough water and it may start costing you.

New conservation numbers released Thursday show the Valley lost progress on meeting the state mandated goal of saving water.

Customers in all of the Valley’s water districts saved water last month compared to September 2013 but only by a fraction of what the state has mandated during this historic drought. Some water agencies didn’t even reach half of their mandated goal.

Here are the numbers:

Sept. Aug. Goal

IWA 12% 22% 32%

CVWD 16% 21% 36%

DWA 24% 29% 36%

MSWD 19% 17% 28%

CWA 18% 21% 24%

“It’s very concerning. We do have to meet that conservation goal,” said Indio Water Agency general manager Brian Macy.

“Obviously that’s disappointing. It’s the lowest numbers we’ve had in several months, and we are still trying to figure out exactly why our numbers were down so low,” said Heather Engel, with the Coachella Valley Water District. “It is very frustrating, because we have so many programs and customers are taking advantage of those programs.”

The most water usage is going towards outdoor use, so that’s where people need to cut more.

People said, they are doing their part and there’s not much more they can cut.

“I’ve cut back on my sprinklers, and I know my neighbors are going to get mad, because I’m not going to over seed,” said La Quinta resident Bill Fitzgerald.

“We changed our landscaping, took out our lawn and put in river rock,” said Palm Desert resident Diane Faye.

“I think it’s very difficult, and we are all giving it our best. I, personally, have lived here 30 years and have lost half my plants,” said Indian Wells resident Mary Curtis.

One possible explanation for the drastic drop in conservation numbers is less people are overseeding, which means they’re keeping their current lawn instead of letting it die off.

“If they didn’t shut their water off, that maybe causing in the increase in outdoor use. They are not overseeding, which is great. That will in the long-run save us water, but in the short term, month to month, we may see an increase in water use because of that.”

“There are a lot of people who are doing all they can. I think probably what we need to do now is focus on that small percentage of people who are not on board,” said Engel.

Those people could end up paying both Coachella Valley Water District and Indio Water Authority are looking at fines.

“The more water you use, the more you are going to have to pay for your water,” said Macy.

For IWA customers, the average penalty for not reaching your conservation goal would be about $14 under the proposal.

“We need everyone to get on board and meet these conservation goals. Otherwise, we do face possible fines from the state. Any fines the district pays are going to be carried over to the customer, so we are really in this together,” said Engel.

Coachella Valley Water District is meeting on Tuesday to discuss options. One of them is increasing fines. The public is invited to give input. No decisions will be made at that meeting.

Indio Water Authority will be presenting their penalty proposal on Oct. 21. If approved it will begin on Dec. 1.