Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that Angelenos have achieved the all-time lowest water use for June on record in the City of Los Angeles, and urged customers to continue cutbacks in the face of worsening drought conditions.
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“Just two months ago, we acknowledged an urgent need to reduce our water use, and today, it’s clear that Angelenos have heeded our call,†said Mayor Eric Garcetti.
“As encouraging as this progress is, L.A. continues to shatter monthly heat records, and we are faced with the stark reality that this crisis is only deepening.
"As the hottest months of the year approach, we’re asking Angelenos to not only maintain recent reductions, but to find additional ways to cut back on their water usage by taking advantage of the nearly 20 LADWP rebates that help our ratepayers save money and have made Los Angeles one of the most water efficient cities in the country.â€
Outdoor watering from three days a week to two went into effect on July 1, 2022. Based on preliminary data, LADWP customers used 9 percent less water in June 2022 than in June 2021, and stayed within the water use threshold for the portion of L.A.’s water supply that comes from the State Water Project.
LADWP customers have ramped up their voluntary reporting of water waste, with reports of water waste rising by 44 percent in the last month.
Customers have also responded in recent weeks with a 10-fold increase in applications for LADWP’s Turf Replacement Rebate Program, which offers $3 per square foot to replace a lawn with drought tolerant landscaping.
All watering continues to be limited to Mondays and Fridays for LADWP customers with street addresses ending in odd numbers, and Thursdays and Sundays for all customers with addresses ending in even numbers.
These restrictions also stipulate that customers watering with sprinklers are limited to eight minutes per use; watering with sprinklers using water conserving nozzles are limited to 15 minutes; and watering between the hours of 9:00 AM and 4:00 PM is prohibited, regardless of the watering day.
The nearly 20 water rebates offered by LADWP that have allowed Los Angeles to become one of the most water efficient cities in the country include:
• $500 for high-efficiency clothes washers, which increased $100 last month;
• $250 for high-efficiency toilets, which also increased $100 last month;
• $500 for zero and ultra low water urinals;
• $6 for rotating sprinkler nozzles;
• Free bathroom and kitchen faucet aerators;
• Free high-efficiency showerheads;
• $5 million allocated by LADWP to offer discounts on real-time water use monitoring devices;
• And up to $2 million through the Technical Assistance Program (TAP), which incentivizes large conservation projects for commercial and industrial customers, up from $250,000 earlier this year.
Since Mayor Garcetti took office in 2013, LADWP customers have saved 257 billion gallons of water – enough water to fill the LA Coliseum over 913 times, and nearly double the amount of water LADWP uses in an entire year. ■