Los Angeles County’s Board of Supervisors voted for a plan to improve stormwater capture with a goal of capturing it for local reuse.
The plan aims to increase the local water supply by 580,000 acre-feet per year by 2045. The county will use this volume of water to supplant water imported from other regions so that 80% of the water supply will be sourced locally.
Water supply from other regions has become less reliable due to climate change and water scarcity. The plan could increase the local supply by about 162 billion gallons and service 5 million more people.
The plan addresses long-standing droughts in the county including a severe drought in 2012 to 2016 and another drought in 2021 to 2022.
The plan contains 14 strategies to increase stormwater capture and local water supply by 2045, including reducing water usage, improving drought preparedness and messaging, leveraging groundwater storage potential, making pumping and treating groundwater more cost-effective, and managing invasive species and wildfires that impact water supply and water quality.
Related Stories
| Mar 16, 2012
Stego embarks on HPD Pilot Program
Vapor barrier manufacturer strives to provide better green choices to designers and builders.
| Mar 12, 2012
Improving the performance of existing commercial buildings: the chemistry of sustainable construction
Retrofitting our existing commercial buildings is one of the key steps to overcoming the economic and environmental challenges we face.
| Feb 26, 2012
Alvarez-Glasman & Colvin’s Chen LEED certified
Chen works closely with property owners to ensure that their properties meet and exceed all industry standards, and also provide long-term energy savings.
| Feb 17, 2012
Tremco Inc. headquarters achieves LEED Gold certification
Changes were so extensive that the certification is for new construction and not for renovation; officially, the building is LEED-NC.
| Feb 15, 2012
Code allowance offers retailers and commercial building owners increased energy savings and reduced construction costs
Specifying air curtains as energy-saving, cost-cutting alternatives to vestibules in 3,000-square-foot buildings and larger has been a recent trend among consulting engineers and architects.
| Jan 9, 2012
Thornton Tomasetti acquires green consulting firm Fore Solutions
International engineering firm launches new building sustainability practice.
| Dec 19, 2011
USGBC welcomes new board directors?
Board responsible for articulating and upholding the vision, values, mission of organization.
| Dec 5, 2011
New York and San Francisco receive World Green Building Council's Government Leadership Awards
USGBC commends two U.S. cities for their innovation in green building leadership.
| Dec 1, 2011
Ground broken on first LEED Platinum designed school house built by volunteers
Phoenix public school receives the generous gift of a state-of-the-art building for student and community use.
| Nov 22, 2011
New Green Matters Conference examines emerging issues in concrete and sustainability
High-interest topics will be covered in technical seminars, including infrared reflective coatings for heat island mitigation, innovative uses of concrete to provide cooling and stormwater management, environmental benefits of polished concrete, and advancements in functional resilience of architectural concrete.