Local News in Brief : Water and Power Use Set Records
Reeling from the weekend’s sweltering heat, Southern Californians set new records for water and power consumption as they pressed air conditioners, back-yard hoses and swimming pools into service.
The Metropolitan Water District, which sells water wholesale to 27 government agencies throughout the Southland, early this week pumped a record 2.62 billion gallons to replenish local supplies depleted over the hot weekend, a district spokesman said.
The official, Jay Malinowski, estimated that total water use in the area served by the district reached a record 5.22 billion gallons.
The Southern California Edison Co. reported an all-time record for electricity use in Southern California on Tuesday, when the downtown Los Angeles temperature reached 92. Demand peaked at 15,987 megawatts at 4 p.m., breaking the previous record of 15,606 megawatts set July 22, a utility spokesman said.
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