Following the system installation in September 2008 on 27 irrigated acres, LADWP began tracking CSULA’s water use for the 2009 calendar year to record water savings.  When compared to the six-year average, from 2003 to 2008, CSULA’s savings for 2009 amounted to more than 21 million gallons–enough to serve 129 households in Los Angeles for one year.

“The TAP program is an excellent resource for LADWP customers and a great opportunity for us to work with our customers to realize significant water savings across the city,” said Lorraine Paskett, Senior Assistant General Manager of Sustainability Program & External Affairs. “We commend CSULA for their water conservation achievements and encourage more customers to participate and benefit from the financial savings that water conservation brings.”

A financial incentive program first introduced in 1992, TAP offers LADWP commercial, industrial, institutional, and multifamily residential customers up to $250,000 for the installation of pre-approved equipment, which demonstrate water savings. The incentive amount is based on the water savings achieved by the project, calculated at $1.75 per 1,000 gallons of water saved over two years, not to exceed the installed cost of the project.  Eligible projects must save a minimum of 150,000 gallons over a two-year period.

On June 1, 2009, the City of Los Angeles instituted the mandatory water conservation program, and entered Phase III of the City’s Water Conservation Ordinance, in response to three consecutive years of statewide water shortage. The program restricts irrigation of landscape to Mondays and Thursdays 9 a.m. and 4 p.m only and includes other provisions to save water such as prohibiting washing down of driveways, sidewalks and other hardscapes, eliminating water runoff, requiring all leaks be fixed and only using hoses fitted with shut-off nozzles, among other restrictions.

Under mandatory water conservation, shortage year water rates were also enacted in June 2009. Shortage year rates are a modified pricing schedule that reduces the amount of water customers are allocated for use at the lowest price. Customers who use more water than they are allotted pay a higher rate for each additional billing unit used (a billing unit is 748 gallons).  Since going into effect, these measures combined have resulted in Angelenos cutting their water use by nearly 30 billion gallons over the past nine months – enough to serve 231,000 households for a year.

For tips on ways to conserve water, and to get information on LADWP’s numerous rebate and incentive programs, including TAP, customers should visit www.ladwp.com or call 1-800-DIAL DWP and following the prompts. The newest rebate program, called the Turf Removal Program, offers customers rebates of $1 per square foot of lawn removed and replaced by drought tolerant plants or permeable hardscape. Click here for more information on this and other rebate programs.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the nation’s largest municipal utility, provides reliable, low-cost water and power services to Los Angeles residents and businesses in an environmentally responsible manner. LADWP services about 1.4 million electric customers and 680,000 water customers in Los Angeles. 

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