Councilmember Greig Smith introduced a motion on Tuesday, July 6 to change the City’s lawn watering restrictions from two to three days a week in an effort to make it easier for residents to keep their lawns green, conserve more water, and reduce stress on our aging water infrastructure.

"The twice-a-week restrictions are turning people's lawns brown, which hurts the quality of life in our neighborhoods and degrades home values," Councilman Smith said. "For more than a decade we have had a policy of greening, not browning L.A."

The motion, seconded by Council President Pro Tempore Jan Perry and Council President Eric Garcetti, directs the Department of Water & Power (DWP) Board of Commissioners to change the watering restrictions in the Water Conservation Ordinance from two days per week for 15 minutes per day, to three days per week for 8 minutes per day.

“This amendment just makes sense," said Perry, who Chairs the City Council's Energy and the Environment Committee. "The proposed watering schedule allows customers to water their lawns more frequently, making the rules easier to follow, allowing lawns to stay greener, and conserving more water."

Perry said she would waive the motion out of her committee to speed up implementation so that it would be in effect for residents this summer.

This would reduce watering on a weekly basis from 30 to 24 minutes per property. But it gives homeowners the flexibility to water more frequently and keep their lawns green during the hot summer season. It will also reduce the stress on our aging water infrastructure. A report from USC Viterbi School of Engineering in 2009 said that the rash of major water main breaks last year was due in part to the effects on the aging water pipes of the dramatic swings in water pressure due to the 2-day-per-week restriction.

It will be announced in coming weeks whether odd or even numbered addresses would be on the Monday, Wednesday and Friday schedule, or on the Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday schedule. Watering still must be before 9:00 am and after 4:00 pm.

Councilman Smith introduced a motion in July 2009 to change the restrictions from two days for 15 minutes a day, to three days for 8 minutes, but the DWP Commission had not acted on the request.

The watering restrictions were rushed into place by DWP, leaving little opportunity for public input or examining best practices. Since then, numerous problems with the policy have emerged. If the soil becomes too dry and hard, then more water is lost to runoff. Dead lawns also have a "Broken Windows" affect by degrading home values and decreasing the community's feelings of pride and investment in the neighborhood