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Los Angeles floats conservation plan - from the Inyo County perspective

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 12, 2008 at 10:23 pm

From the Inyo County Register:

The City of Los Angeles is heading toward a “greener” approach to water usage, which may help keep the Eastern Sierra a bit greener in the future, too.

Facing continual population increases and the very real possibility that climate change, coupled with a growing thirst, could create significantly less access to traditional water supplies, City of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has announced a “20-year water strategy for L.A.”

“L.A.’s future depends on our willingness to adopt an ethic of sustainability,” Villaraigosa said recently. “If we don’t commit ourselves to conserving and recycling water, we will tap ourselves out.”

Los Angeles depends on four sources for its water needs. The Los Angeles Aqueduct has been among that list of four since its opening nearly a century ago. In addition, L.A. also imports water from the Sacramento Delta water delivery system and the Colorado River. Both of those sources are managed under the aegis of the Metropolitan Water District. The remaining water is collected from the San Fernando Groundwater Basin aquifer that exists beneath a portion of L.A. and contributes 11 percent of the city’s total water supply.

While there may be good reason to take a measure of comfort in this statement from the highly-regarded top executive at LADWP, the Inyo County Water Department, Board of Supervisors and judicial rulings – past and future – will no doubt remain this area’s primary lines of defense to protect water exports in an era of increasing demand and decreasing supplies.