Greenest and Cleanest Big City
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 14, 2008
MAYOR VILLARAIGOSA CRACKS DOWN ON EXCESSIVE WATER USE
New water-use ordinance expands restrictions and penalizes offenders, encouraging conservation and moving City towards its goal of meeting all new water demand through conservation and recycling
LOS ANGELES - Moving forward on the City’s plan to conserve and recycle enough water to meet 100 percent of new demand, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, joined by DWP CEO and General Manager David Nahai, today signed a new water-use ordinance with expanded restrictions and penalties to encourage water conservation.
“Today, we are taking an important step forward in our effort to close the spigot on excessive water use,” said Mayor Villaraigosa. “We are stating unequivocally to all residents that anyone wasting our most precious resource will pay the price.”
The new measure (which takes effect on August 14, 2008) updates the current water conservation ordinance to discourage waste by expanding the prohibited uses of water, increasing the penalties for violations and pledging full enforcement of existing restrictions.
The proposed changes in the new ordinance include doubling existing fines for residential customers from $50 for a first offense to $100 and quadrupling existing fines from $50 to $200 for a first offense for large customers, including businesses.
The ordinance will also prohibit customers from watering their landscape during rain and requiring hotels and motels to offer guests the option of reusing linen and towels.
First instituted during the drought of 1990, the ordinance allows officials to penalize water wasters for activities such as watering during certain daytime hours, washing down pavement, serving drinking water at restaurants without the customer's request, and allowing excess water to flow from lawns.
“This action today emphasizes the magnitude of not only our water supply situation, but that of the entire state. It underscores the urgent need for residents to conserve water,” said Nick Patsaouras, president of the Board of Water and Power Commissioners. “Los Angeles residents have demonstrated in the past a conservation ethic, and I'm confident that together, we can step up this effort.”
The Mayor also unveiled new table tent cards to distribute to restaurants citywide who wish to raise awareness about the need to conserve water. The cards will remind patrons that they will only be served water upon request.
“We are pleased to have this enforcement tool now as we face the challenge of constrained water supplies,” said David Nahai, LADWP General Manager and Chief Executive Officer. “This ordinance not only spells out what's allowed and what's not allowed in terms of water use, but helps us raise awareness of the value of conservation.”
LADWP will begin enforcement of the water use ordinance through its Drought Buster Team. Over the past year, the Drought Busters patrolled the City, issued warnings and educated customers about water waste and the need for conservation. Under the new ordinance, the Drought Busters will begin issuing citations to offending property owners or occupants. First-time offenders will get a warning, but repeat offenders will be fined on a sliding scale depending upon the rate and magnitude of the waste. To effectively monitor water wasting, the LADWP will more than double its resources by bringing the total number of Drought Busters from six to fifteen.
The fine will appear as a charge on the customer's LADWP water bill. Appeals will go directly to the Board of Water and Power Commissioners.
The ordinance takes a phased approach to prohibited uses, allowing the LADWP to expand phases depending on severity of water supply conditions. Phase I seeks compliance of 14 prohibited uses and will be permanent, enforceable 24 hours a day, 12 months a year.
Under Phase II, the City will only permit watering and irrigation on Monday, Thursday or Saturday. Phase III will cut back outdoor water use an additional day, limiting it to Mondays and Thursdays.
Under the City’s existing Emergency Water Conservation Plan Ordinance enacted in July 1990, LADWP customers cannot:
• Use water on hard surfaces such as sidewalks, walkways, driveways, or parking areas except for public health;
• Water lawns between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., April 1 to September 30, and between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., October 1 to March 31;
• Allow excess water from sprinklers to flood gutters;
• Use water to clean, fill, or maintain decorative fountains unless the water is part of a recycling system;
• Serve water to customers in eating establishments, unless requested; and
• Allow leaks to go unattended.
The restrictions instituted under the City’s new ordinance include:
• Limiting watering times are limited to before 9 a.m. and after 4 p.m. and to 15 minutes per station for rotating sprinklers and 10 minutes per station for other types of sprinklers 12 months a year;
• Prohibiting landscape watering during rain;
• Prohibiting washing/rinsing vehicles with a hose when the hose does not have a functioning self-closing nozzle attached or allowing the hose to run continuously;
• Requiring hotels and motels to offer guests the option of reusing linen and towels;
• Limiting watering days to Monday, Thursday, and Saturday.
• Limiting watering days to Monday and Thursday only.
Securing LA’s Water Supply
In May, the Mayor unveiled a far-reaching 20-year water strategy which calls for meeting 100 percent of all new water demand by 2030 with a combination of conservation and recycling. The unprecedented plan calls for 6-fold increase in water recycling and ramped up enforcement of water restrictions.
In total, the City will conserve or recycle enough water to fill 100,000 football
fields - or the entire San Fernando Valley - with 1 foot deep of water, and
enough water to supply 200,000 homes each year.
By 2030, the population of Los Angeles is expected to jump by 500,000 people,
according to the Southern California Association of Governments, pushing up
water demand in the City by 100,000 acre-feet per year, or 15 percent.
For information and easy tips on how to save water, please visit http://www.ladwp.com/ and click on "WATER CONSERVATION" or go to http://www.bewaterwise.com/.
# # #