Two New Ambitious Stormwater Capture Plans Proposed for Los Angeles

Monte Morin reported in mid-June that the California State Water Resources Control Board adopted new rules "aimed at capturing and reusing huge amounts of stormwater that have until now flowed down sewers and concrete rivers into the sea." The rules apply to Los Angeles County, but they're being pitched as "a model for other parts of water-starved California."

In effect, the rule change allows "a controversial set of revisions to Los Angeles County's stormwater discharge permit."

"Among other things, the revisions provide a framework for cities to plan and build aquifer recharge systems and other forms of "green infrastructure," according to Morin.

Later in the month, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), a city agency, announced its Stormwater Capture Master Plan—"an initiative that officials say will reduce the city's future reliance on imported water and perhaps address a predicted trend toward heavier, more intense rainfall."

Morin summarizes more of the LADWP master plan:

"The plan includes three large-scale projects in the San Fernando Valley that would collect rainfall in basins or washes and then slowly feed it into the city's primary underground water source — a process known as aquifer recharge.

The proposal also lists a variety of smaller features that would be located on public, private and commercial properties throughout the city: Water-permeable surfaces that would help recharge the San Fernando Valley groundwater basin, as well as redesigned 'green streets' and pocket parks."