LOS ANGELES ACHIEVES MAYOR GARCETTI’S GOAL OF 20 PERCENT WATER SAVINGS
Mayor announces historic reduction in per capita water use at event honoring “Drop Defenders” for outstanding conservation
LOS ANGELES — Mayor Eric Garcetti today announced a 20 percent reduction in the city’s per capita water use, meeting an ambitious goal he set less than three years ago in response to California’s punishing drought.
The announcement came at an event honoring “Drop Defenders,” Angelenos who have taken extraordinary steps to cut their own water use and encourage others to take aggressive steps to conserve.
“I challenged Los Angeles to take the lead in conservation because clean, fresh water is a natural resource like no other — scarce, but available at the turn of a tap and easily wasted if we aren’t mindful of how we use it,” said Mayor Garcetti. “I am proud of Angelenos for achieving this historic reduction in our water use, and I am especially proud of our Drop Defenders for showing all of us how to make every drop count.”
Mayor Garcetti issued Executive Directive No. 5 in October 2014, challenging Angelenos to cut their water use by 20 percent. Residents now use an average of 104 gallons per person per day, down from 131 gallons per person per day in 2014.
The 20 percent reduction also meets the 2017 goal of the Sustainable City pLAn. The next water conservation goal in the pLAn: a 22.5 percent reduction by 2025, one part of a long-term strategy to reduce dependence on uncertain water supplies.
The mayor announced the milestone at a ceremony honoring the winners of the first annual “Drop Defenders” awards for exceptional water conservation.
The award winners, one from each City Council District, saved thousands of gallons of water by switching to California-friendly landscapes, installing cisterns, rain barrels, and high efficiency toilets, taking shorter showers, and limiting landscape watering.
The City of Los Angeles and the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles launched the Drop Defenders contest in September 2016 as a program to recognize Angelenos who went above and beyond to conserve water in their day-to-day lives. The program is part of the award-winning Save the Drop campaign, a program of the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles.
“Achieving 20 percent per capita water savings is a tremendous achievement for our city,” LADWP General Manager David H. Wright said. “The efforts by the Drop Defenders exemplify the actions that have enabled us to reach this impressive goal. But our work is not yet done. We continue to encourage all customers to continue save water, to make water conservation a way of life in our arid region, and to take full advantage of our many rebate programs so they can save both water and money.”
In recognition of their efforts, winners received a golden garden gnome statuette and official City Certificate officially proclaiming them as “Drop Defenders.” The winners by council district are:
CD 1 – Kenneth E. Fandell
CD 2 – Te-See Bender-Rouhier
CD 3 – Anthony Cruz
CD 4 – Mark LaFleur
CD 5 – Joanne Reicher-Caro
CD 6 – Rueben Davtian
CD 7 – Gregory Arthur
CD 8 – Tamkin Collins
CD 9 – Jose Ante II
CD 10 – Peter Ford
CD 11 – Isabelle Duvivier
CD 12 – Jeremy Li
CD 13 – Alison Julian
CD 14 – Denise Dimin
CD 15 – Christina Medina
“There are many reasons to be hopeful for L.A.’s water conservation efforts,” said Council District 8 winner Tamkin Collins. “We are driving a culture change. More and more individuals are spreading knowledge and awareness about saving every drop we can, and our family and friends are each taking small steps that all add up.”
To learn more about the contest and the Drop Defenders, please visit SavetheDropLA.org.
To learn more about LADWP’s water conservation rebate programs, please visit: www.myladwp.com.
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