LADWP Customers Successfully Reduce Water Use under Mandatory Conservation
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) water customers are responding to the call to conserve and have begun to achieve notable water savings in all customer sectors, with water demand at a 32-year low for the month of June, according to Department records.

For the month of June, single-family water use was 12.7 percent lower than June 2008 and nearly 17 percent lower than June 2007, when Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa first issued a call to Angelenos to conserve 10 percent.

"We are very encouraged by the citywide response to mandatory water conservation. These results clearly indicate that our customers are more carefully using water during this time of natural and regulatory drought. For this, we are grateful," said David Nahai, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of the LADWP. "Having said this, mandatory water conservation has only recently begun and now, with temperatures rising, we must continue efforts to reduce our water use.  We still have a way to go."

Overall, total water use by all five customer classes fell by 11 percent this June versus June 2008, and fell 14.4 percent since the "Base Year"--the year prior to the Mayor's call to conserve 10 percent citywide.

On June 1, the City of Los Angeles instituted mandatory water conservation, restricting sprinkler use to two days a week, Mondays and Thursdays, as well as instituting shortage year rates for all 680,000 water customers in the City of Los Angeles. 

This two-pronged approach is designed to spur greater water conservation; especially outdoors where between 30-40 percent of all water is used. 

Mandatory water conservation restricts sprinkler watering to Mondays and Thursdays only and includes other provisions to save water such as prohibiting watering between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily, prohibiting hosing down driveways and sidewalks and water runoff, requiring all leaks be fixed and only using hoses fitted with shut-off nozzles, among other measures.

Shortage year water rates are a modified water pricing schedule wherein the water allocation for which customers pay the lowest lowest rate (Tier 1) is reduced by 15 percent, and the rate for any water used over the Tier 1 allocation is raised. Shortage year rates are designed to send a strong price signal to customers to conserve water or pay a higher price for excessive water use (Tier 2). 

Customers who conserve and stay within their reduced allocations will not be impacted financially; whereas those who exceed their allocations will see their bills rise. 

Customers already conserving 15 percent or more will not be affected.

Return to August 2009 Western Energy News

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