L.A. water use plummets during hot summer amid calls to conserve during drought
AUSTIN, Texas — From a low of 13.1 billion cubic feet in the fall to 10.6 billion in the spring, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has cut water use across its distribution system this year.
DWP is now only on track to use 10% of the water it gets from the Los Angeles River and an additional 2% from the Trinity River, according to DWP spokeswoman Diane Gutierrez.
The reductions come amid calls to conserve water during a particularly dry era of weather across the northern United States.
Across the region, water use peaked in May, with water use at 1.4 billion cubic feet, according to the DWP.
“There is drought across the entire region,” DWP chief operating officer John White told Capital Public Radio. “I think many people in this city, and people across the region, are struggling, and we think, if they can conserve to the extent that they are, they’ll go about making this transition.”
The DWP has already reduced water use since its peak, the station reports.
The DWP has reduced its water use by a record amount in the Los Angeles area.
A DWP spokeswoman told Capital Public Radio that DWP is continuing to reduce water use in the system, but that it will be an ongoing process.
“The fact of the matter is we’re all in this together,” DWP spokeswoman Diane Gutierrez told Capital Public Radio. “The system is very complex. There are lots of people involved, and so we’re in a position where we have to be as collaborative as we can be.”
The DWP isn’t alone in cutting its use. For example, in California, a group of utilities reported a record-setting total water use reduction for the 2011