The Los Angeles region may not be in severe drought, but they are “back to our water-wasting ways,” writes UCLA’s Marc Gold. A couple years ago, Californians were using 24 percent less water than in 2013, while in 2018 conservation is not really happening because it’s down to 1 percent. LA must upgrade its water infrastructure to permanently reduce its water use.
The successes during the last drought were more behavioral than structural, and as the recent Resilient Los Angeles plan that listed 96 steps to strengthening steps, a wise move would be for the city to its reliance on imported water from the current 85 percent to less than 50 percent by 2035.
To bulk up water local water resources means greater use of wastewater recycling, urban runoff placed in groundwater storage, and green that improves rainwater absorption to recharge aquifers. Working with nature to boost local supplies might not be cheap and easy, but it’s worth it to ensure the city is all-around resilient.