Conserving Water
115 billion gallons of rainwater annually; 60% of all the water used by Angelenos last year alone—that’s how much water we channel off into rain gutters and down our storm drains to the sea. This is wasteful. Los Angeles imports over 80% of its water – at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars and impacts on the electrical grid – transporting water is the single largest use of electricity in California.

Members of the Water Committee have organized to move beyond our water-wasting ways and ‘temporary drought’ mentality. Bringing water to Southern California is not a sustainable practice, although it has been adopted as a long-term crisis-driven band-aid. Tapping into the Colorado, Sacramento and the San Joaquin Rivers and the Eastern Sierra is costly and politically fragile.

Long term solutions that focus on changing attitudes towards local water resources have been a starting place; reducing LA’s dependence on imported water is the goal line.

Water wisdom
Green LA’s Water Committee focuses on water policy to help Los Angeles wean itself from over-dependence on imported water. Los Angeles imports over 80% of its water – which places the region in great precarity.

The Water Committee created Not Enough to Waste: Solutions to Securing LA’s Water Future to enable city officials and residents to pursue readily available solutions to LA’s water problems. Members also organize briefings for policy makers and public organizations who want to learn more about local water issues and solutions. To request a briefing, the group can be contacted here.

Participating Organizations

  • City Vida
  • Environmental Justice Coalition for Water
  • Environment Now
  • Desal Response Group
  • Food and Water Watch
  • Sierra Club, Angeles Chapter
  • Southern CA Watershed Alliance
  • The River Project
  • Urban Semillas

Using Natural Systems to Improve the Urban Environment
The Urban Ecosystems Committee focuses on restoring vital urban ecosystems. By greening LA’s metropolitan infrastructure to re-establish natural systems, local water resources will soon be enhanced by a new policy measure, Low Impact Development, which mandates that new developments capture local stormwater thereby allowing rain to infiltrate into the ground instead of polluting our rivers and ocean. Read the Natural Resources Defense Council study here.

Green LA is helping to win passage of a comprehensive Low Impact Development ordinance for the city of Los Angeles. This cutting-edge policy requires certain new developments and retrofits to capture storm water on site—helping set a precedent to establish environmentally sustainable landscaping practices.

Participating Organizations

  • Heal the Bay
  • TreePeople
  • City Vida