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Meat and potatoes missing from DWP’s strategic water planning workshop, says commentary

Posted by: Maven on March 17, 2009 at 7:44 am

From City Watch, this commentary by Michael Cohen, a long-time community advocate and an occasional contributor to CityWatch, who attended DWP’s Water and Strategic Planning Workshop, and files this report:

L.A. Is losing water on multiple fronts, half of our traditional water supply from the Aqueduct is being diverted to raise the water level of Mono Lake and for dust mitigation in the Owens Valley. So reported Senior Assistant to the GM, James McDaniel at Saturday’s Water and Strategic Planning Workshop.

The Eastern Sierra Nevada snow pack is at 70% from last year, he said, and the water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has been reduced, as in spilt smelt. If that wasn’t bad enough, through industrial and government indifference and carelessness the San Fernando Valley’s ground water contribution has become an ingredient for lab research. It’s just too contaminated for our use.

The Governor has declared a statewide drought and the DWP has instituted Stage 1 water conservation measures with at least two more stages to go. So prepare to use less water for landscaping, lawns, pools, and home gardens or beware the warnings and eventual fines by the DWP water police and, sticker shock utility bills.

The DWP has some long term “plans” to reduce our dependency on ‘imported’ water.

Conserve water by better practices, capture rainwater instead of letting it run to the sea, repair our dams, install water meters in all residential units, and clean and recycle our water at the Tillman Plant in Van Nuys, derisively known as toilet to tap. If these measures are put into effect the DWP expects to handle all future population growth to the year 2030 without importing any additional water.

The real problem is the DWP itself and political meddling from the City. These ideas are not rocket science or new, in fact I can’t remember a time when they weren’t proffered as solutions.

Read more from City Watch by clicking here.

March 17, 2009 · Filed Under Water Agency News

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