Villaraigosa weighs curbs on water use
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Tuesday that he will decide early next year whether to impose mandatory curbs on water usage in Los Angeles.
“I will reassess that at the beginning of the year,” Villaraigosa said. “We’re going to have to do substantially better in conserving and reducing our water use.”
In the past, city Department of Water and Power officials have said that they would not make that decision until February or March, after reviewing weather conditions.
In early June, the mayor issued a plea for residents to rein in their water use by 10%, pointing to a record dry year and a small snowpack in the eastern Sierra Nevada, source of 50% or more of the city’s water.
Despite Villaraigosa’s request, overall water use in the city stayed virtually unchanged from June through October, The Times reported Monday.
City officials say they anticipate a small decrease once November statistics are compiled and reviewed. By contrast, Long Beach has seen significant savings since instituting mandatory restrictions on lawn watering and other uses in September.
Although a storm passed through Los Angeles last week, the Eastern Sierra received only 1 to 1 1/2 inches in “snow-water content,” or about 12 to 18 inches of snow, according to the state Department of Water Resources.
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