LADWP and Customers Achieve Record Summer Water Savings in Response to Drought

By Emily Rose Oachs

“Don’t waste another drop!” It’s become a familiar refrain amid this historic three-year drought. One that thrums from newspapers and radio, from social media and billboards, from neighbors and friends, even fleeting across our consciousness as the faucet runs a half second too long. It’s a chorus that intertwines with everyday life in Los Angeles, informing the actions and behaviors of the city. In early November, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti congratulated Angelenos for achieving record-setting levels of water conservation over the summer. Over four months since June, LADWP customers collectively saved nearly six billion gallons of water compared to the same period in 2021. Angelenos have also reduced per capita daily water use to 110 gallons as of September, averaged over the last 12 months.

In June, new watering restrictions were announced, limiting customers to outdoor watering just two days a week. Our customers responded by cutting their water use that month by 9 percent over June 2021, while July ushered in an 11 percent reduction in usage over July 2021. The numbers from August showed similar successes, with water use across our service area dipping by 10 percent over that month in 2021. September continued the savings trend with 9 percent reduction over September 2021 values.

Those record lows signal just as much success as some of the sky-high numbers our Water Conservation Response Unit has reported. September kept the unit busy as they processed 3,528 water waste reports and issued 129 citations—more than seven times as many water waste reports and three times as many citations as September 2021.

As the drought drives on, the Department continues to make it easier than ever for our customers to limit water use by expanding our already robust array of conservation programs and rebates. Since August, we have opened three Recycled Water Fill Station locations, which offer our customers free recycled water for use on landscaping. With September’s launch of our Flume pilot program, customers can purchase the smart home water monitoring device at a steep discount—a total cost of $24 (regularly $199)—and begin to track their water use and identify leaks from their mobile devices. And effective October 1, we boosted the rebate amount for our Turf Replacement program, now paying customers $5 per square foot to replace their thirsty, grassy lawns with sustainable California Friendly and native landscaping. That’s up to $25,000 available for a 5,000 SF project!

In addition, LADWP also further promoted water conservation rebates and programs to help customers cut back on water use. The programs include:

• Free showerheads and faucet aerators
• $500 for high-efficiency clothes washers
• $250 for high-efficiency toilets
• $500 for zero and ultra-low water urinals
• Smart water use monitoring devices
• Varying rebates for rotating sprinkler nozzles, weather-based irrigation controllers and soil moisture sensor systems
• Free, hands-on DIY landscaping workshops
• And up to $2 million through the Technical Assistance Program for commercial customers

Over the summer, LADWP customers responded by taking advantage of these rebates, cashing in on water and bill savings. From June through September, LADWP provided over $2.8 million in rebates for items including clothes washers, toilets, turf replacement, which is 70 percent more than the same time last year.

Ensuring we conserve our water resources requires every corner of the community to step in and do their part. Our customers are meeting us in this challenge as we are meeting them. Together, we can rise to the occasion and become even more resilient. We’ve got this, L.A.!

Photo by Art Mochizuki.