LADWP Reveals Plan To Collect Stormwater Runoff
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Los Angeles Department of Water and Power officials will unveil a plan Thursday for capturing stormwater runoff and using it to refill underground supplies, rather than allowing it to drain into the Pacific Ocean.
At a public hearing Thursday, the LADWP will present its Stormwater Capture Master Plan, which officials say will reduce the city's future reliance on water imported from the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta and the Colorado River.
Presently, only 12 percent of Los Angeles' water supplies come from local sources
The plan reportedly includes three large-scale projects in the San Fernando Valley that would collect rainfall in basins or washes, then feed it into the city's primary underground water source. The plan also includes a variety of smaller features featuring water-permeable surfaces that would help recharge the valley's groundwater basin.
Just an inch of rain can produce a 1,000-acre foot of water, according to the LADWP, which currently captures 27,000 acre-feet of water to recharge groundwater supplies.
The LADWP previously said the Stormwater Capture Plan aims to collect between 170,000 and 280,000 acre-feet of stormwater.
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