Posted by Mitchell Englander on April 17, 2015 at 12:00 PM

This Tuesday, I introduced a motion requesting the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP) increase outreach efforts on the Turf Replacement program to better establish this program throughout all parts of the City. Additionally, the motion requests LADWP make billing and water consumption data available to vendors, with customer authorization, to expedite the processing of rebates and allow easy evaluation of a customer's water conservation savings.

This Tuesday, I introduced a motion requesting the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP) increase outreach efforts on the Turf Replacement program to better establish this program throughout all parts of the City. Additionally, the motion requests LADWP make billing and water consumption data available to vendors, with customer authorization, to expedite the processing of rebates and allow easy evaluation of a customer's water conservation savings.

Governor Brown recently announced that the State of California would enforce its first-ever mandatory water use reduction of 25% due to an historic low Sierra Ice Pack level compounding years of ongoing drought. Turf removal requirements are also a part of this effort for their potential to reduce outdoor watering.

The LADWP has had a turf removal and rebate program in place since 2009. In October 2014, Mayor Garcetti directed LADWP to increase the rebate to $3.75 per square foot, which greatly increased public interest and resulted in a many-fold increase in rebate applications. The on-going seriousness of the drought has generated greater participation in the program, to the extent that the City has now provided rebates for 14 million square feet of turf with at least another 8 million square feet to be replaced and rebated by summer. The public acceptance of this program has placed Los Angeles as a true leader in the state's drought response. A beautiful, California Friendly Landscape is on its way to replacing a water thirsty front lawn.

In driving this important cultural change, it is critical that the turf program be actively managed and able to successfully handle the increasing level of public interest.

-Mitchell Englander, Councilmember Twelfth District