Water conservation is vital despite steady supply, official says

A Mesa Water District official spoke on the state of the district Thursday morning, stressing that Costa Mesa is well-positioned to withstand California’s years-long drought but residents should still conserve.

The drought is “something we need to get used to as a community,” district Vice President Ethan Temianka told a group of about 30 at the Costa Mesa County Club. The event was organized by the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce.

Mesa Water, which services Costa Mesa, portions of Newport Beach and some unincorporated county land, has a consistent water supply that comes from within the city limits and other wells in the county, Temianka said. The district has structured itself for a local water supply, rather than importing it, since the 1970s.

About 30% comes from the Mesa Water Reliability Facility on Gisler Avenue, with the remaining 70% from county wells. The reliability facility’s supplies are from a deep underground aquifer that is “drought-proof,” Temianka said.

The district also plans to maintain its uniform rate of charging the same for water, no matter how high or low the usage, he said.

Still, Temianka said, conservation is important.

He stressed a recent Mesa Water education campaign of “three Ls”: loads, lawns and leaks. Examples include washing full laundry loads, watering lawns fewer times a week and checking for leaks throughout households.

The district is also taking the “carrot” approach, Temianka said, by not heavily enforcing water-wasting penalties or strict enforcement. It has also maintained a low rate of water loss in its distribution system, as well as AAA bond ratings from Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s.