Forum on future of L.A.'s water supply Aug. 9

  • Posted on 30 July 2014
  • By From Chapter reports

From UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
 
Join the Sierra Club, Food & Water Watch and The River Project for a discussion on where Los Angeles will get its water in the future and how we plan to pay for it. We will ask the question, Where should L.A.'s Department of Water & Power invest ratepayer money?
 
WHAT: The Future of Water and Water Rates in Los Angeles 
 
WHERE: Kaiser Permanente, 13652 Cantara St, Panorama City, CA 91402
 
WHEN: August 9, Forum from 10 AM -1 PM
 
This forum seeks to build community support around prioritizing local water infrastructure, as water policy in Los Angeles needs to aggressively pursue local water supplies in the face of drought and climate change.
 
It hopes to engage community stakeholders in the discussion about where we are headed as a city and how our water policy will impact L.A. ratepayers, our urban environment and the sustainability of Los Angeles.
 
This forum will take place in the Valley where water consumption rates are highest. The Valley also holds L.A.'s largest groundwater basin, which is in dire need of remediation from decades of toxic pollution. Los Angeles stands at the crossroads when it comes to its water policies. Whether it acts to safeguard water security for future decades to come or continue to rely on last century solutions depends on what residents want.
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Comments

As a Sierra Club member, I'm appalled that environmental groups and government agencies aren't doing more to protect the only Bird Conservation Area in Los Angeles County. The County is proposing no fresh water for wildlife in their Oxford Basin Multiuse Enhancement Project. Proposition A (1992 & 1996) was approved by the voters to protect and maintain wildlife areas through means including recycled water. A 2010 Oxford Basin Watershed Management document required identifying locations where water recycling could be located adjacent to the basin. The abandoned City of Los Angeles Thatcher Maintenance Yard is the answer and solution. Make it happen for the wildlife and community water sustainability. Wastewater/runoff recycling and reuse needs to be mandatory countywide and done within the municipalities/cities where the resource is created. Identify locations countywide where local treatment facilities can be located. It can and must be done. Recycle, reuse and thrive. douglaspfay@aol.com

Please read and/or distribute my previous email to attendees and interested parties. Unfortunately, I am unable to attend this forum due to a conflicting work schedule. Kind regards, Douglas

The government, at all levels (federal, state, county, etc.) should have more meetings that include public citizens. They should being asking for suggestions that citizens have regarding important issues involving the California's water problems. It would also help if our officials sent out surveys to all residents. Ask them what they feel should get done to help with the problems. Make these surveys the type that gets their opinion regarding numerous problems and includes an area that allows them to make suggestions regarding possible changes.

Growing rice and almonds in the Central Valley is okay, but water savings have to come from Southern California? Time to throw out the system of perpetual water rights based on who already has them. Also time to rein in water wasting agricultural crops and practices. If urbanites can have their water usage regulated, so can agriculture - and water usage calculation needs to include drawing from aquifers.

Since Agriculture is by far the biggest user, they should be regulated the most instead of harassing urban property owners with "nickel and dime" penalties. What is being done about the Valley's polluted basin? The polluters should pay for the clean up.

So how much of 77% is dedicated to the animal agriculture? According to numerous online sources, it seems that the majority of 77% is to feed the grain that feeds the livestock for human consumption and dairy... So, how about promoting the concept of cutting down on meat and dairy consumption? Our state, country, planet, will not be sustained if we continue to eat meat which supports the growing animal agriculture!

Agreed. 70% ag use of water is misleading. please break it our by animal production and all other food production. Stop tipping-toeing on the meat industry, and stop animal slavery.

Statewide approval of gray-water system with a tax rebate Approve and build desalinization treatment plants using already known technology Tax incentives to convert property to drought resistant plants etc.

Though it often strikes people as counter-intuitive, growing plants in water rather than soil through hydroponic or aquaponic technologies can be close to 10x more water-efficient than growing the same plants in soil (because you have a closed system and lose very little water to evaporation compared to traditional in-soil growing). A well-designed, "closed" system generates significantly better annual yields, you can grow vertically (growing plants one atop another like a series of bunk beds), and just basically get a lot more produce from the same area/acreage. The ability for individuals or small scale growers to employ this technology in a back yard, a spare room, or even a spare closet, substantially increases local supply of food needs and creates protection against food scarcity if/when the climate changes decimate traditional food sources. I would suggest more resources go into both encouraging commercial foods suppliers to convert to hydroponic/aquaponic methods, and also educating the masses on how they might employ this for themselves. Note, aquaponics is a form of hydroponics that adds in a fish tank that generates nutrients for plants with the added benefit that you are also growing fish which could be edible such as tilapia or decorative such as goldfish. While I agree that the more people who convert to vegetarian or vegan diets, the better for sustainability, I realistically concede in the short run that that is a hard sell for many people, but we might be able to sell them on eating a lot more locally aquaponically-raised tilapia (e.g., fish tacos over beef tacos, fish & chips over a burger & fries, etc.).

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