L.A.’s January Water Use Continues to Decline

LADWP Customers Urged to Conserve More as Drought Persists 

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said, “We are on track for a fourth dry year in this drought with the warmest winter for the last 120 years. This has direct and serious impacts to our water supply and the Eastern Sierra snowpack. I’m asking Angelenos to heed our call to reduce their water use by 20% by reducing sprinkler use, checking for leaks, and removing your grass. Now is the time to do what we can to cut back even more and prevent a severe water shortage when summer comes around.”

“We spoke last week with many of the state’s major water agencies, and we are all facing the same dilemma in our January reporting – extremely low precipitation coupled with higher-than-normal temperatures,” said Marty Adams, LADWP’s Senior Assistant General Manager for the Water System.  “The good news is that we are still saving lots of water, but the numbers show that we are still too quick to return to old watering habits as soon as the weather gets nice.  With the wet weather we have had, there is absolutely no reason for anyone to turn their automatic sprinklers back on.  Don’t be a watering robot!  If we don’t save water now and encourage our plants to develop stronger root systems, both our water supply and our landscapes will be at risk this summer.”     

This month, LADWP’s snow surveys were dismal showing snowpack water content only at 18 percent of normal this time of year. Similarly, the State’s Department of Water Resources announced that their surveys in the Sierras were only 25% of normal to date statewide.

In response to the statewide drought and the third driest year on record, Mayor Garcetti directed Angelenos to conserve more water in November 2014. He also mandated the reduction of purchased water by 50% by 2024, and required the implementation of a strategy to ensure a more sustainable local water supply.

LADWP also reports that since 2007, its annual per capita water use has been reduced by 16%. The Department attributes this to its customers’ response to an aggressive push for water conservation rebates including water efficient toilets, weather-based irrigation controllers, and turf rebates now at $3.75 a square foot for residential customers.  The water conservation ordinance, which was never lifted since 2007, has also restricted outdoor watering to three days a week, and prevented other wasteful uses like hosing down driveways and sprinkler runoff.

For more information about LADWP’s water conservation programs, visit www.ladwp.com/waterconservation.

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Media Contact:

Michelle Figueroa, LADWP Communications

michelle.figueroa@ladwp.com

(213) 367-1361