City of Los Angeles Environmental Affairs Department
Environmental Facts 2007

The City's Environmental Affairs Department seeks to protect and enhance the environmental quality of life for residents, communities, workers, and visitors in the City by: recommending environmental policies and programs to the Mayor and City Council; implementing and coordinating Citywide environmental initiatives; securing and assisting others in securing resources for the implementation of environmental initiatives; facilitating public education; providing assistance to businesses; responding to requests for information on environmental issues; and ensuring that solid waste facilities in the City are operated in a manner that protects the public health, safety, and environment.

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City of Los Angeles 2007 Environmental Facts

Read about Stormwater, Air Quality, Wastewater, and more facts about the City.

Building Community

Send us your sustainability/recycling/ re-use idea!

We'll share your ideas with other Los Angelenos!  Send us ideas as they pertain to office, home, and school. Email us at ead.info@lacity.org.  Be sure to include your name and what you do.

Events This Month

May 3:

CD 6 Environmental Community Clean Up

CD 3 & CD 12 Day of Service

May 3, 7, 21:

Bureau of Sanitation Open Houses

May 11:

Ladybugs and Butterflies!

May 15:

Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative Community Forum

May 17:

Los Angeles Arbor Day

Endangered Species Day

May 18:

Whole Planet Whole Children Expo

 

Printable Past Issues of An Environmental Affair

March 2008

February 2008

 

 

Want to go further back? Click here!

Update 04/30/2008

Air Quality

  • 1st Ranked Southern California Ranking as having the worst air quality in the country (2007)

  • 78 days in 2006 with unhealthy air quality (per South Coast Air Quality District)
  • 10% Port of Los Angeles contribution to the air pollution (diesel particulate matter, total for the two San Pedro Bay Ports is 20%)
  • 45% Estimated reduction of air pollution from the Port in 2012 through the implementation of the San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP)
     

Information courtesy of Los Angeles Environmental Affairs Department

 

Parks, Open Space, and Trees

  • 33% is the percentage of children in the City living within ¼ mile of a park (Boston 97%, New York 91%, San Francisco 85%, Seattle 79%)
  • 21% is the average tree canopy cover for the entire City
  • 27% is the average tree canopy cover for the U.S.
  • 23,410 acres is the total park acres in the City of LA (includes City, County, State and Federal acres)

Information courtesy of City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks

 

Alternative Fuel Vehicles

City Operations

City of LA Bureau of Sanitation Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Truck
  • 15,000 is the total number of City-owned vehicles
  • 2,455 City-owned alternative fuel/hybrid vehicles per 2006 year-end survey
  • 21% --Average annual increase in alternative fuel/hybrid fleet since the City’s Clean Fuel Policy was adopted in 2000
  • 16% --Percentage of ALL alternative fuel/hybrid vehicles in City fleet (sedans, light duty, heavy duty non-emergency vehicles)
  • 46% --Percentage of sedans in City fleet that are alternative fuel
  • 1st City in the country (and 2nd to Tokyo) to incorporate fuel cell vehicles in the fleet for everyday use (2 fuel cells in city departments and 5 fuel cells at LAWA)
  • 4 million gallons of gasoline saved through use of alt. fuel/hybrid vehicles – for calendar year 2006
    6% Reduction in gas usage by hybrids, from 2003 to 2004

Public Transportation

  • .100% DASH vehicles fleet (188 buses) are alternative fuel
  • 1st Metropolitan Transit Authority’s (MTA) ranking as the largest public transit bus alternative fuel fleet in the country.
  • 2,500 is the total number buses in the MTA fleet
  • 2,250 compressed natural gas (CNG) buses in MTA fleet, representing 90% of MTA’s fleet - soon to be 100% alternative fuel or hybrid
  • 80% of the vehicles in MTA fleet are alternative fuel vehicles.

LAX

  • 540 alternative fuel/hybrid vehicles at LAX - representing 70% of LAX’s fleet

Information courtesy of the Environmental Affairs Department

 

Renewables and Power Generation

  • 20% is the Mayoral goal for renewable energy, as a percentage of Department of Water and Power’s (DWP) total power supply sources, by 2010
  • 1.4 million is the total number of DWP customers
  • 24.3 million is the total annual megawatt volume delivered by DWP (2006)
  • 509 Kwh is the monthly average residential usage, in kilowatt hours
  • Out of DWP’s total power supply sources, 8% is renewable energy (2007 projected)
  • 3,643 is the total miles of DWP transmission lines
  • 65% is the total percentage of electricity consumed by business and industry
     

Actual Electricity Purchases in 2006 (preliminary figures)

  • 7% Renewables
  • 47% Coal
  • 7% Large Hydroelectric
  • 30% Natural Gas
  • 9% Nuclear


Renewables = 8%

  • 1% Biomass
  •  < 1% Geothermal (negligible amount)
  • 6% Small hydroelectric
  •  < 1% Solar
  • 1% Wind

Information courtesy of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power

Solid Waste

  • 6652 tons average daily of refuse collection by Bureau of Sanitation trucks (municipal and green waste)
  • 9.3 million tons of trash generated in the City per year
  • 5.8 million tons of trash diverted for reuse/recycling
  • 60% is the City’s diversion rate
  • 70% is the Mayoral goal for diversion by 2015
  • 307 liquefied natural gas (LNG) and LNG/diesel solid resources collection trucks, out of 676 total trucks - representing 45% of the collection fleet
  • 2.6 million gallons collected of used motor oil for recycling
     

Information courtesy of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation

 

Water

146 Gallons Average gallons daily per capita water use (2006-2007)
 

Per day

  • 68% Residential sector - water consumption
  • 24% Commercial/government sector - water consumption
  • 3% Industrial sector - water consumption
  • 48% is the percentage of the city’s water supply that originates from the Mono Basin and Owens Valley via the Los Angeles Aqueducts
  • 13% is the percentage of the City’s water supply that originates from local groundwater
     

    Projected Percentages (2007-2008)
     

  • 17% is the projected percentage of city’s water supply that originates from the Los Angeles Aqueduct (2007-2008)
  • 13% is the projected percentage of city’s water supply that originates from local groundwater (2007-2008)
  • 69% is the projected percentage of city’s water supply that originates from Metropolitan Water District
  • 1% is the projected percentage of city’s water supply that originates from recycled water

     
  • 5,125 acre-feet of reclaimed water delivered to LADWP customers (2006-2007)
  • 1986/1987 is the year that Los Angeles water consumption peaked
  • 17% is the percentage of population growth between 1990-91 and 2006-07
  • 146,679 acre ft. is the 2006-07 water savings because of conservation, equal to 131 million gallons per day
  • $70 Million in annual savings of the water cost because of conservation in 2006-07

    Information courtesy of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power

Waste Water

Summary of Wastewater Collection System:

Four million people served within 600 square mile of service area that includes Los Angeles and 29 contracting cities and agencies. More than 6,500 miles of sewers connect residences and businesses to the City’s wastewater treatment plants.

Treatment Plant Capacity

  • 64 Million Gallons/day Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant
  • 450 Million Gallons/day Hyperion Treatment Plant
  • 20 Million Gallons/day Los Angeles/Glendale Water Reclamation Plant
  • 30 Million Gallons/day Terminal Island Treatment Plant
  • 6,700 miles of city sewers
  • 600 total square mile service area
  • 4 million total number of residents served
  • 408 Million Daily average flow volume (which equals 578 Olympic-sized pools could be filled with this daily average flow volume)
  • 105 Million Daily average volume in gallons of reclaimed water produced
  • 255,500 tons Biosolids captured for land application per year
     

Sewage Treatment Plants (4 Plants that serve the City of Los Angeles)
1. Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant, Van Nuys

  • 40 Million average gallon/day flow
  • 64 Million average gallon/day capacity (derated from 80 million gallons/day)
     

2. Hyperion Treatment Plant (HTP), Playa del Rey

  • 331 Million average gallon/day flow
  • 450 Million gallon/day capacity
     

3. Los Angeles/ Glendale Water Reclamation Plant, Glassell Park

  • 16.6 Million average gallon/day flow
  • 20 Million gallon/day capacity
     

4. Terminal Island Treatment Plant, Terminal Island

  • 16.3 Million average gallon/day flow
  • 30 Million capacity gallon/day flow

     

Data from January 2006 to December 2006

Treatment Plant Average Influent Flow (incoming flow to plants):
HTP = 345 mgd
Terminal Island = 16 mgd
Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant = 54 mgd
Los Angeles/Glendale Water Reclamation Plant = 17 mgd
 

Information courtesy of Los Angeles Department of Public Works

 

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