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New watering rules now in effect
August 25, 2010
The changes to the City of Los Angeles’ Water Conservation Ordinance are now in effect. This simplifies the law’s water conservation phases and change the schedules for permissible outdoor watering with sprinklers.
One change consolidates two phases in the previous ordinance, bringing the total number of phases down from six to five, combining what were phases II and III. Phases of the ordinance correspond with severity of water shortage, with each increase in phase containing stricter conservation measures.
The changes also shift the days on which watering with sprinklers is allowed for odd and even-numbered addresses under Phases I, II and III of the new ordinance.
Under this new ordinance Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP) customers are allowed watering three times per week on specific days based on street address, and with specific time limits based on type of watering nozzle.
Under the new Phase II restrictions, customers whose street addresses end with an odd number – 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9 – are permitted to use their sprinkler systems on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, before 9 a.m.and after 4 p.m. Customers whose addresses end in even numbers – 0, 2, 4, 6, or 8 – are permitted to do so on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Addresses ending in fractions are treated as whole numbers and observe the same day restrictions as others on their same side of the street, (ie: 4321 ½ would be regarded as 4321, an odd-numbered address.)
Sprinkler time limits under the new Phase II restrictions are based on the type of nozzle used in the system. Spray head sprinklers and bubblers, which are non-conserving models, are limited to 8 minutes per cycle and one cycle per day per watering station. Standard rotors and multi-stream rotary heads are limited to 15 minutes per cycle and up to two cycles per day per watering station. Noe that the typical single-family home has non-conserving spray head sprinklers.
LADWP has increased the rebate on water-conserving sprinkler nozzles to $8 per nozzle, which covers the purchase price. Please visit www.LADWP.com/rwr for more details.
All other components of the ordinance, including the prohibited uses of water, remain the same. Watering with sprinklers continue to be restricted to hours before 9:00 a.m. and after 4:00 p.m., regardless of the watering day. Hand-watering, using garden hoses fitted with shut-off nozzle devices, remains permissible any day of the week before 9:00 a.m. and after 4:00 p.m.
Educational awareness efforts, and enforcement where applicable, will continue to be conducted by the LADWP Water Conservation Team, whose members actively patrol Los Angeles communities to help inform customers of water waste they observe in progress and learn about through tips from neighbors and concerned residents who call 1-800-DIAL DWP or send e-mails to waterconservationteam@ladwp.com.
