New Ordinance Aims to Solve L.A.'s Water Problems through Conservation
Eric Richardson
[Flickr]
Council President Eric Garcetti is joined by Councilwoman Jan Perry, Mary Leslie of the Los Angeles Business Council, Convention Center head Pouria Abbassi and DWP GM David Nahai at a press conference to talk about the city's new water efficiency ordinanc
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles could save a billion gallons of water yearly thanks to an ordinance passed by City Council today. The new rules require that fixtures installed in the city meet low-flow guidelines.
"We don't have a water supply problem in Los Angeles," said Council President Eric Garcetti at a press conference held earlier in the morning. "We have a water conservation problem."
The new ordinance reduced the allowable water usage in toilets, urinals, faucets, showerheads and other fixtures. Toilets are reduced from 1.6 to 1.28 gallons per flush, while urinals are reduced from one gallon to 0.5 gallons. The rules apply to new construction, but will also govern fixtures put in to replace broken ones in existing structures.
Councilwoman Jan Perry, who chairs the council's Energy and Environment committee, praised the various city departments involved in the effort. "We all are working together to address out growing need for water conservation," said Perry.
The morning press conference was held at the Los Angeles Convention Center, which last year installed ultra-low flush urinals and a new dishwasher in the main kitchen. Together, those changes are estimated to save 1.5 million gallons of water annually.
Pres on July 22, 2009, at 08:06PM – #1
Thousands of cubic miles of water right next door with just a bit of salt in it. They won't spend any time reprocessing it but counteles $$ & time to make sure people minimize water use. Operating by crises seems preferable to the govtment agencies.
RLK on July 23, 2009, at 08:37AM – #2
Attitudes like Pres are what we have to alter. Conservation is always a good start for any resource, whether it is oil, water or land or whatever. The attitude of drilling for oil and desalination to meet every ones wants is not the answer. We have enough water to meet our needs. Basic behavior must change so that we don’t waste resources.
Los Angeles will grow in population and we must learn to conserve our resources.
Desalination of the Santa Monica bay is no answer. If the water is so dirty you can't swim in it or eat fish from the bay why would you want to drink it?
The drill, drill, drill attitude must be changed to conserve, conserve, conserve. It worked in the seventies, eighties, nineties and it will work in future decades.
John Crandell on July 23, 2009, at 10:47PM – #3
Extended decades of drought combined with the conservation mantra expressed above would only result in the destruction of the metropolis' inordinately diverse and spectacular flora. We might need to pursue desalinization if global warming induces years of drought in the southwest.
Consider the technology of nuclear batteries, soon to be implemented by the firm known as Hyperion Power Generation. These gizmos could easily power a desalinization plant.
Small enough to be transported on a ship, truck or train, Hyperion power modules are about the size of a "hot tub" — approximately 1.5 meters wide. Out of sight and safe from nefarious threats, Hyperion power modules are buried far underground and guarded by a security detail. Like a power battery, Hyperion modules have no moving parts to wear down, and are delivered factory sealed. They are never opened on site. Even if one were compromised, the material inside would not be appropriate for proliferation purposes. Further, due to the unique, yet proven science upon which this new technology is based, it is impossible for the module to go supercritical, “melt down” or create any type of emergency situation. If opened, the very small amount of fuel that is enclosed would immediately cool. The waste produced after five years of operation is approximately the size of a softball and is a good candidate for fuel recycling.
Perfect for moderately-sized projects, Hyperion produces only 25 MWe — enough to provide electricity for about 20,000 average American sized homes or its industrial equivalent. Ganged or teamed together, the modules can produce even more consistent energy for larger projects.
Save the Jacarandas! Save Huntington Garden!
watersaver on July 28, 2009, at 01:40AM – #4
Yeah Pres, we have a limitless water supply just only a few miles away. But do you know how much desalinization plants cost?? When your water bill is $250 a month you might suddenly be thankful for the city's conservation efforts. Or are you just another "user" Republican that wants all those socialistic gov't services but doesn't want to pay more taxes. Like all the clowns here that want better freeways but don't want to pay for with higher gas taxes?? Maybe you should just drink the water from the bay since you claim it only has "a little salt in it??"