Councilmember Bob Blumenfield demonstrating permeable materials (Michael Nystrom / Neon Tommy)

The Department of Recreation and Parks, RAP, turned off the irrigation systems at more than 450 parks and 15 golf courses in Los Angeles.

“We saved 87 million gallons of potable water,” said City Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell.  “This translates to around $200,000 in savings.” 

Southern California is currently experiencing one of the most severe droughts in decades, with only 5.77 inches of rainfall since July 1 of last year.  

Around 4.5 inches of rainfall occurred from Feb. 26 through March 2 alone, with about 94,000 acre-feet of water available for capture.

“We realize water is so important, it’s not just wastewater, the conservation, us reusing water, or stormwater, but it’s a precious, expensive commodity that means that Los Angeles has to get smarter about it’s capture,” said Councilmember Felipe Fuentes, chair of the City's Energy and Environment committee.

Last month Councilmember Bob Blumenfield announced a measure that outlines how park construction and maintenance can conserve energy and water for the Department of Water and Power.

“This includes utilizing permeable materials for parking lots to assist with groundwater recharge,” said Blumenfield. “Paving with these materials reduces harmful runoff, act as a natural filter for solids and pollutants and will crucially recharge our precious groundwater storage.”  

Santa Monica has already incorporated permeable materials in new sidewalk construction.  

Water conservation was also stressed by RAP, and drought resistant plants are a viable way many areas within Los Angeles can reduce water use.  For those unable to switch to drought resistant alternatives, turning off sprinklers during rain events is effective as well.  

“With the Department of Water and Power we developed a strategic water plan in 2006, and that was the plan that took us into the real efforts of conserving water across the parks system,” said Michael Shull, general manager, Recreation and Parks.  “If you look at our baseline data levels from 2006 water consumption to today, we reduced our water consumption by 2.4 billion gallons of water.”   

Outside sources of water that supply the Los Angeles Aqueduct and the California State Water Project have received only a third of the usual rain and snowfall.

“It is a critically dry year for the state as a whole, and it will be very important this year that everyone in L.A. does their part to save water,” said Martin Adams, director of water operations, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.  

Los Angeles currently has a water conservation ordinance—restricting watering to 3 days a week, before 9 am and after 4 pm.

Reach Associate News Editor Michael Nystrom here.