Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa yesterday proposed a $1.5 billion plan to expand the city’s water supply over the next 20 years.
The plan calls for a six-fold increase in recycled water and “aggressive” conservation measures, including fines for restaurants that serve water when it’s not requested and residents who water their lawns at prohibited times.
Officials did not say how much of the capital plan would be paid for with bonds. The city’s general obligation bonds are rated Aa2 by Moody’s Investors Service and AA by Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings.
“If we don’t commit ourselves to conserving and recycling water, we will tap ourselves out,” Villaraigosa in a release.
With water increasingly scarce in the arid Southwest, long-term droughts decreasing the amount of water that can be drawn from the Colorado River, and environmental restrictions limiting the amount of water that can be taken from California rivers, local water agencies are preparing for intense competition for resources in the years ahead.
Los Angeles, the nation’s second-largest city, expects its population to rise by 500,000 over the next 20 years, pushing water demand up by 15%. The city hopes to meet half of that need through conservation and half through recycling water.
The city plans to give residents sprinklers that use less water, and it plans to expand its “purple pipe” system that delivers recycled water for irrigation and industrial uses. Officials plan to increase use of recycled water from 1% to 6% of demand, necessitating investments in the sewerage treatment system.
Los Angeles also plans to retrofit its Tujunga dam and invest in more local groundwater storage capacity.
