By: Jonathan Giovanazzi

Despite possibilities of below-average rainfall in the months and years to come, the city of Ontario removed its policies on mandatory water conservation in a city council meeting two weeks ago. The city set a 0% water conservation target alongside state regulators due to recent rainfall across the state.

The Ontario City Council approved the change from a Stage 2 water conservation phase to "voluntary conservation" at a recent meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 21.

"We currently do not have a water supply shortage. We have enough water and we reported that to the state," says Scott Burton, utilities general manager of the Ontario Municipal Utility Company in an interview with the Daily Bulletin.

Reports by Mr. Burton and his company called for the change from Stage 2 to voluntary conservation, noting that Ontario has enough water to meet all demands across city limits. The reports became the reasoning behind the conservation target of "0" reported to the State Water Resources Control Board.

Under the rules of voluntary water conservation, fines cannot be issued for excess water use. These incidences include overwatering driveways or lawns, filling swimming pools, or limiting water usage on city properties. Letters written in regards to water usage will be sent through mail and will take the place of any forms of penalties.

Large storms throughout the fall and winter seasons in 2019 provided California with more water than the typical yearly average. These numbers sound great for the Inland Empire and the state, but will last year’s rainy season be enough to protect the state's water source from another dry spell?

2020 has not lived up to 2019 in terms of rainfall thus far. The month of January provided the city of Ontario with less than an inch of rain. Climatologists and local government officials are still confident with the conservation change however, noting that water from other sources will provide enough to assist all of Southern California.

Local agencies and the Ontario City Council highlighted local reservoirs and imported ground water from the Sierra Nevada mountain range in their recent meetings and statements. According to them, the Northern California snowpack provided SoCal with 90% of its water supply alone in the month of January.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is one of the top water providers in the United States. The company has about 3.1 million acres of water storage combined throughout its facilities.

The city of Ontario gets about 20% of water from MWD and a little over 50% from the Chino Basin. The rest of the water is cleaned groundwater from the area or outside sources. Many agencies including the MWD are encouraging the city to buy imported water from NorCal or purchase from other sources up north. This was briefly addressed at January council meetings.

Although the state has water for now, officials still encourage all Californians to conserve as much water as possible. Ontario residents have already, or will, receive reminders regarding the end of the Stage 2 conservation phase. The letter is not designed to encourage extreme water use. It is formatted to make citizens water-conscious and help Ontario thrive for the years to come. The city directs focus towards its citizens, and notes their crucial role in protecting the environment.

Ontario Lifts All Water Restrictions