The LADWP Board of Commissioners has approved revisions to the existing Water Conservation Ordinance to discourage water waste by expanding prohibited uses of water and increasing the penalties for violations.

Monetary fines for residential customers would be doubled from $50 for a first offense to $100, and quadrupled from $50 to $200 for large customers, including businesses, with meters two inches and larger.

A phased approach is being utilized for prohibited uses, allowing the Department to expand phases depending on the severity of water supply conditions. Phase I seeks compliance of prohibited uses and requirements and will be permanent and enforceable 24 hours a day throughout the year. Subsequent phases can be implemented based on an assessment of the City’s water supply by the Board.

The prohibited uses and requirements will be as follows:

Prohibited Uses: water hosing to rinse paved surfaces; decorative fountains or ponds without water re circulation; unrequested water service to restaurant customers; landscape irrigation runoff to pavement; washing vehicles without a water shutoff device; landscape irrigation between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. year-around; landscape irrigation during rain; single-pass cooling systems in new buildings;

Requirements: requiring maintenance of leaky pipes on facilities; requiring limiting sprinkler irrigation cycle times to 10 or 15 minutes; requiring new car washes and laundry systems to use water re circulating systems; requiring daily towel and linen laundering service at hotels and motels to be optional; requiring use of rain sensors on irrigation systems at parks and open fields.

Enforcement will be administered utilizing the Department’s Drought buster Team which as been monitoring wasteful water practices and educating customers throughout the City during the past year. The Drought busters will issue citations, with warnings for first time offenders and issuance of fines for repeat offenders. Fines will appear as a charge on the customer’s DWP bill and appeals will follow an administrative process, with final appeal to the LADWP Board.

This notification, along with the revised Ordinance and an Executive Summary of the Ordinance will be posted on our website at www.ladwp.com/nc.

For any questions regarding this MOU notification , please contact Greg Bartz, LADWP Neighborhood Council Liaison at (213) 367-2800.

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