The Water Information Program

Water projects in western Riverside County are on hold until March or later because the local water agency could not promise to deliver water to serve them. The dilemma shows what can happen when construction and global trade, key drivers of the regional economy, are reined in by a potential lack of water. "Just looking at the raw numbers, we kept coming up short," said David J. Slawson, president of the board of directors of the Perris-based Eastern Municipal Water District, one of the largest districts in the state. the restriction is "something we feel is necessary until we have some better numbers and we see some action statewide." He says he's surprised that other water districts have not paused to review their own supplies. This winter is posing the first significant test of two little-known state laws passed in 2001 that link large development to the availability of water. The Eastern district may be the first in the region to cite water as the reason for delaying approval of a large project because of the laws. Developers and water officials worry that more agencies may do the same, further weakening a building market already crippled by the sub-prime mortgage crisis. Although Inland Empire business leaders hope Eastern will ease its restrictions as early as March, the district is offering no guarantees.
 

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