LA Mayor's New Water Plan Makes Every Drop Count

The San Fernando Groundwater Basin is the city's primary local water source, providing 11 percent of the total water supply. But groundwater levels in the basin are declining and its long-term sustainability is threatened.

"LA's future depends on our willingness to adopt an ethic of sustainability. If we don't commit ourselves to conserving and recycling water, we will tap ourselves out," Mayor Villaraigosa said today.

"This plan makes a basic promise to our kids - we are going to recycle and conserve enough water to meet 100 percent of new demand," he said.

Water conservation is expected to cover half of the15 percent jump in water demand. The other half will be met by the city's first wide-scale plan for water recycling.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and LADWP head David Nahai (Photo courtesy Office of the Mayor)

Developed by the Mayor's Office and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, LADWP, the nation's largest municipal utility, the plan, called "Securing LA's Water Future" calls for a multi-pronged approach to meet this increase in demand. It combines short-term steps to conserve water with long-term investment in water-efficient technology, water recycling, and improvements in the groundwater supply.

Representing a more than $1.5 billion investment in infrastructure and conservation programs, the plan will be funded by a combination of fees on industrial polluters, grants and LADWP funds already budgeted for the plan.

David Nahai, LADWP chief executive and general manager, called the plan "a bold and visionary strategy for securing L.A.'s water supply today and in the future by developing a locally sustainable water supply."

In the short term, the plan calls for the first real enforcement of city water restrictions since the early 1990s. Residents who water lawns during prohibited hours and restaurants that serve water to customers who have not requested it will be penalized.

Penalties can range from a written warning for a first violation to monetary fines and water service shutoff for continued non-compliance.

New restrictions may cover watering lawns on certain days of the week or periods of time and washing vehicles with or running water through hoses without self-closing nozzles.

To educate the public, LADWP will launch a $2.3 million conservation education campaign that will include radio, TV and newspaper ads; billboards; outreach to neighborhood councils; and marketing of city rebates for water-efficiency. All water agencies in the region will be encourage to adopt water conservation ordinances.

"Outreach is essential if we truly want to make an impact and this water plan highlights the importance of engaging our community in this goal," said Councilwoman Jan Perry, who chairs the city's Energy and the Environment Committee. "I am also confident that with new technologies we will be able to better conserve water by reclaiming and reusing our captured stormwater. This along with consumer conservation efforts will help us reach our goal."

On the technology side, the plan shifts the city's focus from promoting efficient indoor plumbing to the outdoors, where Angeleno families use 30 to 40 percent of their water.

The plan introduces a new program to distribute free "smart sprinklers" that adjust their watering based on weather conditions to every home in Los Angeles starting in early 2009.

"We are already seeing the effects of global warming, and as a city we need a comprehensive plan to address rising temperatures and a shrinking water supply," said Councilwoman Wendy Greuel. "It's incumbent upon all Angelenos to do their part or we will face severe long-term consequences."

Recycling wastewater into drinking water will require upgrading the Tillman Water Plant with state-of-the-art, advanced treatment capability; similar to the Orange County Water District's recent water recycling system.

Advanced treatment would be constructed at the Tillman Plant, and the highly treated wastewater would be piped to spreading basins for groundwater recharge.

By December 2010, the LADWP will complete the seismic retrofitting, clean-up and water-storage expansion of the Big Tujunga Dam, quadrupling its current capacity.

LADWP will engage in a comprehensive clean-up effort to maximize use of the Groundwater Basin, and the utility is investigating opportunities for increased storage of groundwater along the Los Angeles Aqueduct and Central Coast Basin.

"Water is a precious commodity in Los Angeles, and it will only get more scarce as climate change grips our region," said Councilmember Bill Rosendahl, chair of the Council Committee on Public Works. "With more intense storms and hotter summers on the way, we need to capture, conserve, and recycle every last drop."

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2008. All rights reserved.