July 21--Los Angeles water officials laid the groundwork Tuesday for new restrictions that would limit landscape irrigation to two days a week if the city fails to meet its mandatory conservation targets.
The Board of Water and Power Commissioners voted to approve the stricter rules, the first step in the bureaucratic process.
"I think this is a very sensible approach," board President Mel Levine said. "It's also clear that if we are not meeting ... water-use objectives, we as a city need to be able to take quick action in order to give our customers the best possible guidance to get back on track."
But Department of Water and Power officials emphasized that any changes to the city's watering regulations require approval from the City Council. So far, they say, residents have been doing a good job conserving water amid a fourth year of drought. The soonest customers could see tighter restrictions would be sometime next month -- or even later.
Under the city's current Phase II restrictions, Angelenos may run their sprinklers three days a week. The rules also restrict water users from hosing down sidewalks or driveways, watering in a way that causes runoff or washing cars with a hose that does not have a shut-off valve.
If the city were to move into Phase III, outdoor landscape irrigation would be limited to two days per week. In that stage, officials also recommend the use of pool covers to decrease the amount of water lost to evaporation and washing vehicles at commercial car wash facilitates. Those recommendations do not become mandatory until Stage IV.
In order to comply with Gov. Jerry Brown's order to cut urban water use, DWP customers must reduce their water consumption by 16%. The city met its goal in June "by a very narrow margin," according to a department report.
Last fall, Mayor Eric Garcetti also issued a directive calling for a 20% reduction in per capita water use by 2017.
"Therefore, LADWP is recommending a transition from Phase II to Phase III ... if either the Mayor or [state water board] monthly water use targets are not met," the report said.
UPDATE
1 p.m.: This post was updated to clarify that landscape irrigation would be limited to two days a week, as opposed to outdoor watering.
This story was first posted at 12:16 p.m.
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