LA water rationing in the pipeline

Businesses in Los Angeles are bracing themselves for water rationing measures after the city's Department of Water and Power (DWP) this week signalled it could impose caps on water use as part of efforts to tackle California's three-year drought.

Under the plan, which has been adopted in principle by the Department's board and will be formally voted on next month, homes and businesses would pay a penalty rate of almost double normal prices for any water they use over and above their monthly allowance.

The scheme is modelled on the previous water-rationing measures, which were introduced in March 1991 in response to the last drought to afflict the city. DWP spokesman told news agency Reuters that the measure successfully cut citywide water use by about 25 per cent.

The new scheme is expected to come into action from May and has secured the support of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa who called for rationing to be adopted as part of his recently released water shortage plan.

It will be adopted alongside a number of other water restrictions that were also passed by the DWP board this week, including rules to restrict lawn sprinkler use to just two days a week.

The DWP is also working on a raft of wider measures designed to secure water supplies for a city where population growth is expected to drive up water demand by 15 per cent by 2030 at a time when scientists predict climate change will lead to increased drought risks.

Under the plan, businesses will be offered $400 rebates to install waterless urinals, while LA residents will receive free smart sprinklers designed to cut water use, and families will receive $200 rebates to install water-saving technologies.

The city is also planning to invest in enhancing the water efficiency of public buildings, increasing water recycling levels six-fold, and better exploiting local groundwater supplies.

Such measures, including water rationing, could soon become a common feature of cities in the South West, with Reuters reporting that San Diego and other cities throughout California are weighing up similar measures in response to a statewide drought that is entering its third year.

The region has recently experienced heavy rain, but experts said that they have not proved sufficient to bring an end to the drought, warning that both the snow pack in the Sierra Nevada and the reservoirs it feeds are still badly depleted.

Recent government reports have warned that the whole of the south western US will be afflicted by increasingly severe water shortages over the coming decades as a result of climate change, while only this week officials in Las Vegas warned that falling water levels at Lake Mead could result in serious water shortages for the desert city.