Watering Days to be Based on Street Address, Rebates Increased, and Phases of Ordinance Simplified

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles City Council today (Aug. 18, 2010) approved changes to the City of Los Angeles’ Water Conservation Ordinance. The changes simplify the law’s water conservation “phases” and change the schedules for permissible outdoor watering with sprinklers. Under the revised Ordinance, customers whose street addresses end with an odd number – 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9 – will be permitted to use their sprinkler systems on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, before 9 a.m. and after 4 p.m. Customers whose addresses end in even numbers – 0, 2, 4, 6, or 8 – will be permitted to do so on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, before 9 a.m. and after 4 p.m. Addresses ending in fractions will be treated as whole numbers and observe the same day restrictions as others on their same side of the street, (ie: 4321 ½ is regarded as 4321, an odd-numbered address.)

Sprinkler time limits will be based on the type of nozzle used. Spray head sprinklers and bubblers, which are non-conserving models and are common in most landscapes, will be limited to 8 minutes per cycle and one cycle per day per watering station. Rotors and multi-stream rotary heads will be allowed 15 minutes per cycle and up to two cycles per day per watering station.

The revised Ordinance will also reduce the number of water conservation phases from six to five. “Phases” of the Ordinance correspond with severity of water shortage, with each increase in phase containing stricter conservation measures. Currently, Los Angeles restricts LADWP customers to outdoor watering with sprinklers twice-weekly.

All other components of the Ordinance, including the prohibited uses of water, will remain the same. Watering with sprinklers is restricted to hours before 9:00 a.m. and after 4:00 p.m., regardless of the watering day. Hand-watering using garden hoses fitted with shut-off nozzle devices is permissible any day of the week before 9:00 a.m. and after 4:00 p.m.

Following approval by the City Council, the Ordinance is subject to review by the Mayor. If approved, the changes will become effective upon publication, which would occur approximately one week after the Mayor’s review period ends.

Educational awareness efforts, and enforcement where applicable, will continue to be conducted by the LADWP Water Conservation Team, whose members actively patrol Los Angeles communities to help inform customers of water waste they observe in progress and learn about through tips from neighbors and concerned residents who call 1-800-DIAL DWP or send e-mails to waterconservationteam@ladwp.com.

In an effort to help our customers save water and money, LADWP has increased the rebate on water conserving sprinkler nozzles to $8 per nozzle, which covers the purchase price. The Department offers numerous other rebate programs and incentives for switching to water efficient devices and tips for easy ways to reduce water use. This information, as well as comprehensive information on the new watering schedules and the prohibited uses of water, is all available at www.ladwp.com.

Customers may apply for a Hardship Variance from specific Ordinance requirements, including customers in designated High Fire Severity Zones. Variance Instructions and Forms are available online at www.ladwp.com/waterconservation and at all LADWP Service Center locations. For more information, call 213-367-0771.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the nation’s largest municipal utility, provides reliable, low-cost water and power services to Los Angeles residents and businesses in an environmentally responsible manner. LADWP serves about 1.4 million electric customers and 680,000 water customers in Los Angeles.