Los Angeles to cut outdoor watering to 2 days a week

By JOHN ANTCZAK
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The city of Los Angeles is moving to require its nearly 4 million residents to reduce outdoor watering from three days a week to two as California’s drought lengthens, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced Tuesday.

The planned restriction for Los Angeles Department of Water and Power customers is less severe than a recent decision by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California that some residents it supplies must cut watering to one day a week.

LA’s cutback would take effect June 1 after receiving expected City Council approval.

Garcetti said Los Angeles can be less restrictive due to ongoing collective actions of its citizens to conserve water.

“We are using a little bit less water today than we were more than 30 years ago with a million more people,” Garcetti told a news conference.

Garcetti still urged homeowners to replace thirsty lawns with drought-tolerant landscaping.

While the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is a municipal utility, the Metropolitan Water District is essentially a giant wholesaler that supplies 26 public water agencies that provide water to 19 million people.

MWD’s one-day-a-week watering rule will affect about 6 million residents.

State water authorities were scheduled to hold a briefing on the drought outlook Tuesday afternoon.