IT’S THE CHEESE(HEADS)
Southland sinks and toilets were working overtime during half time.
Water usage in Los Angeles during the first 10 minutes of halftime increased 11% compared with the minutes just before the break, based on levels detected by the city’s computerized monitoring and control system.
Water usage was up an even greater 12% in the minutes just after the game, said Walter Zeisl, spokesperson for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
While high, the increase in usage was less than that recorded during Super Bowl XXXI in 1997, when Green Bay defeated New England, 35-21, and water usage in Los Angeles soared 25%, Zeisl said.
“Normally, increased water usage or flows in the city’s system cannot be correlated with typical television viewership,” he said.
“It takes a very large television event, such as the Super Bowl or the last episode of ‘Seinfeld,’ for a correlation to be made between water usage and television programming.”
The DWP is the nation’s largest municipal utility, serving 3.6 million residents of Los Angeles.
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