Oh no! H20! The City of Los Angeles has been experiencing a drought for decades but this year, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is introducing new water restrictions to help conserve water throughout the City of Angels.
Monkey Wrench Plumbing wants only the best for its customers and the residents of Los Angeles. Since we specialize in plumbing and tankless water heaters, we want to provide you with all the information and tips you need on how you can best conserve water during the drought.
We understand that dealing with the water shortage can be frustrating and remembering all the new regulations can be confusing, so we are here to help break it down into one fun blog post.
In this article, we will go through all the new water restrictions that have been put in place by the LADWP and offer you some tips on how you can best conserve water in your home.
LADWP’s New Water Restrictions
As of June 1, 2022, the City of Los Angeles has begun restrictions on water usage all across Los Angeles County.
California is experiencing severe drought conditions in our third consecutive dry year, which has included the driest January, February, and March on record. During this historic drought, it is important that we Angelinos do all that we can to save more water.
So in order to conserve water, the LADWP has rolled out new water restrictions to help during our dry times. Here’s a list of the water restrictions that have been put in place:
- Limiting outdoor watering to two days a week.
- Houses with street addresses ending in an odd number may water or use their sprinkler systems on Mondays and Fridays before 9:00 a.m. or after 4:00 p.m. only
- Homes with even-numbered street addresses are allowed to water or use their sprinkler systems on Sundays and Thursdays before 9:00 a.m. or after 4:00 p.m. only
- Watering with sprinklers is limited to 8 minutes per station, per watering day.
- All outdoor watering is prohibited from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
- No outdoor watering during rain and 48 hours after.
- No runoff onto streets, driveways, and gutters.
- No watering of any hard surfaces such as sidewalks, walkways, driveways, or parking areas.
- Hand watering with a self-closing shut-off nozzle on the hose is permitted any day of the week before 9:00 a.m. or after 4:00 p.m.
- All leaks must be repaired in a timely manner.
- No washing vehicles without using a hose with a self-closing water shut-off nozzle.
- Recommend use of pool covers to decrease evaporation.
- Recommend washing of vehicles at commercial car wash facilities.
We (along with LADWP) believe that cutting back the water usage to twice a week can save hundreds of thousands of gallons. To help reduce water use, LADWP offers rebates for water-efficient toilets, washing machines, irrigation controllers and more. You can also qualify for a turf replacement rebate and replace your lawn with a sustainable, low water-use landscape. Read here to learn how you can take advantage of rebates in your area!
Violations For New Water Restrictions
With new restrictions, comes new violations. No, the LADWP is not going to lock you in jail and throw away the key but they will hit your pockets.
According to city officials, first offenses to any of the new restrictions will be given a “warning” in the form of water conservation tips (which we will get to in just a moment) and printed educational material to raise awareness.
Any violations committed after that may result in fines that range from $200 to $1,200. Yikes!
So you must be wondering now, “Are there any other ways that I can save water?”
Top Five Water Conservation Tips
While we listed out some of the water restrictions that have been placed, there are plenty of other ways that you can conserve water in your home.
The top five ways to save water include:
- New Sprinklers
Replacing the sprinkler system is one of the ways you can save water. You can swap out your 25 pop-up fan-spray sprinkler nozzles with rotating “finger” stream nozzles. The rotating stream spray nozzles reduce misting, run off, and evaporation compared to standard fan-spray nozzles. LADWP says doing this can save nearly 35,000 gallons a water per year.
- Pool Cover
Have a pool? Cover it up! Purchasing and installing pool covers can conserve your water usage. Pool covers reduce water loss through evaporation and helps maintain pool temperature in the cooler months to help save on gas heating. Having a pool cover installed can save around 14,000 gallons of water per year.
- Turf Reduction
Removing turf and any other drought resistant landscape is another key way to save on water. LADWP says by switching from grass with sprinklers to more “drought tolerant” shrubs, it can save large amounts of water - 10,997 gallons of water to be exact.
- Clothes Washer
It is time to level up your washing machine (or that’s what LADWP is hoping you do.) Why is that, you ask? By installing high efficiency washing machines, you are using 50% less water than conventional top loader models. It can save just over 10,000 gallons of water per year.
- Fix Leaks
Every homeowner experiences leaks every now and then, but did you know that those same leaks are actually wasting water? On average, leaks account for about 5% of the water usage in homes and depending on the size of the leak, the percentage can be much higher. LADWP recommends that you use food coloring to check for leaks in toilets.
If the coloring begins to appear in the toilet bowl without flushing, you have a wasteful leak that should be repaired immediately. Also LADWP recommends replacing faucet washers in bathroom and/or kitchen faucets.
Check out this post here to learn more about other ways that you can save on water usage as these five tips are not the only ways to go about conserving water.
Closing Out Water Restrictions
California is experiencing severe drought conditions and has been for several years but we do not have to keep this cycle going. By following the restrictions and the water saving tips, you can do your part to help lift the City of Los Angeles out of its long-standing drought. It is not a one-person job, which is why we need each other to get the job done.
Check out the LADWP page here for more information on the new water restrictions and more water-saving tips. Let’s save Los Angeles together and make every drop count!