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DWP Officials Outline Plan To Capture, Reuse Storm Drain Water

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — City officials heard details Wednesday on a new Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP) plan to capture and reuse potentially millions of gallons of water that previously would have ended up unused in the city's storm drains.

The Los Angeles City Council's Energy and Environment Committee were briefed by LADWP officials along with Councilman Jose Huizar following the loss of 70,000 gallons of reservoir water in Eagle Rock when it was released into streets and storm drains earlier this year.

Under the proposal, LADWP's Water System staff will modify their actions while draining water mainlines, tanks and reservoirs for planned repairs, improvements, connections and relining, barring unforeseen conditions such as leaks and breaks.

One of the recommendations to help capture water runoff involves redirecting storm water into sewer drains, where existing programs would be used to recycle the water, according to Huizar.

The plan also calls for the LADWP to perform inspections using "submersible, remotely operated tools to minimize the need to drain pipes, reservoirs and tanks". The agency would discharge water to the storm drain system "only as a last resort."

In a motion issued in March, Huizar calling on LADWP to create a new water-capture policy after residents notified his office on March 16 via social media that water were being wasted while LADWP crews were draining the Eagle Rock Reservoir for repair.

In response, LADWP sent trucks to capture some of the water for reuse, Huizar said.

A recent independent study found the city's overall water system is efficient when it comes to other cities, with lower levels of water losses compared to the national average, according to Huizar's office.

Under the Infrastructure Leakage Index, LADWP's water system scored 1.2, less than half of Santa Monica's 3.34 and a fraction of Philadelphia's 10.76 rating, the study found.

Huizar told KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO there shouldn't be any double standard for the city and its residents when it comes to water conservation.

"If DWP is asking our constituents, our residents, to conserve more, DWP should also be conserving," he said.

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