Rainwater Ordinance

(Originally posted on waterefficiency.net)

By Elizabeth Cutright
Editor
Water Efficiency

A few weeks back, after a week-long set of storms soaked California, I wondered if urban rainwater catchment was getting enough attention. I asked, “Should cities take up the call, or should we fall back on the old mantra of individual responsibility?”
In Los Angeles, the answer is clear—it’s city government that should take the first necessary steps towards promoting rainwater catchment. In a new proposed law, new homes (as well as housing developments) would have to capture and reuse stormwater runoff. As reported today in the Los Angeles Times, a new ordinance approved at the beginning of the year by the Department of Public Works would “require such projects to capture, reuse, or infiltrate 100% of runoff generated in a 3/4-inch rainstorm or to pay a stormwater pollution mitigation fee that would help fund off-site, low-impact public developments.”
There’s a dual benefit to rainwater catchment in urban areas—not only can capturing and reusing rainwater supplement current water supplies, controlling stormwater can help reduce the deleterious effects runoff can have on water quality. In fact, the Times reports that Paula Daniels (Commissioner for the Board of Public works) believes the new ordinance—which she drafted—would “prevent 104 million gallons of polluted urban runoff from ending up in the ocean.”
In order to comply with the ordinance, developers would have to incorporate a variety of storage and treatment systems, including storage tanks and infiltration swales—with a goal of controlling 100% of a projects runoff. Failure to hit that 100% mark would result in a $13-per-gallon penalty.
It’s this penalty that’s causing the most concern amongst local developers and the Building Industry Association. The issue is whether low impact development (LID) is specific enough that successful implementation can be guaranteed. For example, much depends on the individual elements of each project’s locale, including soil content and topography.
At this stage of the game, it’s all still theoretical. The ordinance has several hurdles to clear before it becomes law, including approval by he Energy and the Environment and the Planning, the Land Use Management committees of the City Council, and an affirmative vote from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. The hope is that, six months from now, the ordinance will garner all the necessary approvals and go into effect just in time to capitalize on 2011’s rainy season.
So what do you think? Should LIDs be used as a regulatory tool? Should there be some flexibility included in regulations of this nature to account of the differences inherent in each individual project? And are penalties the most effective way to promote conservation tactics like rainwater harvesting?