MAYOR VILLARAIGOSA MARKS HALFWAY POINT TO LOS ANGELES WATER CONSERVATION GOAL
13 November 2008Since the summer of 2007, local residents have cut water use by 5 percent – moving Los Angeles closer to its conservation goals
Waterfree urinal technology could save Los Angeles
21.6 billion gallons of water annually
LOS ANGELES – Moving forward on the City’s plan to conserve and recycle enough water to meet 100 percent of new demand, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, joined by Councilmember Jack Weiss, Councilmember Eric Garcetti, and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power General Manager David Nahai, this week recognized the achievement of Watt Plaza in Century City, the first “A” class office building in Los Angeles to install Falcon Waterfree urinals and save the City millions of gallons a year in wasted water.
“Waterless urinals represent a conservation effort that will drastically reduce the amount of water we waste,” said Mayor Villaraigosa. “I know that a bunch of politicians talking about urinals easily lends itself to bathroom humor. But we are in a serious drought. If we don’t conserve on a large scale in this city, we could actually run out of water. And that’s not funny.”
As part of LADWP’s water-efficient urinal program for commercial sectors, Watt Plaza has installed 88 Falcon Waterfree urinals that will conserve 3.5 million gallons of water annually.
“We are proud to be the first Class A office building in Los Angeles to completely retrofit our bathrooms with waterfree urinals,” said Nadine Watt, President of Watt Plaza.
“We hope that other buildings will quickly follow our lead and help create a more sustainable Los Angeles.”
To encourage installation of water-efficient and water-free urinals, the LADWP provides rebates ranging from 200 to 500 dollars per urinal, which, in some cases, covers the entire cost.
“These water-free urinals are a very good example of how new technology can dramatically improve the efficiency of water usage in Los Angeles,” said David Nahai, general manager and CEO of the LADWP.
“It is programs like this, and others we have spearheaded over the years like the replacement of one million low-flow toilets and rebates for water-efficient clothes washers, that has helped us keep our water use to the same level as 25 years ago. Going forward, we are committed to expanding these initiatives to encourage even more water savings.”
Up until this year, it was not possible to install water-free urinals in high-rise and large-venue buildings. Under the direction of Mayor Villaraigosa, the Department of Building and Safety amended the building code to finally allow for water-free urinals to be installed in locations such as Staples Center, Hollywood Bowl, and Dodger Stadium.
Falcon has installed nearly 1,000 waterfree urinals in the past year – saving a total of 39.5 million gallons of fresh water annually.
Locations include:
Staples Center – 193 urinals
Hollywood Bowl – 117 urinals
Dodger Stadium – 115 urinals
Nokia Theater – 91 urinals
Watt Plaza – 88 urinals
Kilory Reality – 15 urinals
MWD Headquarters – 10 urinals
El Pueblo – 8 urinals
Other LA Institutions – 350 urinals
“Falcon’s technology and quality speaks for itself,” said James Krug, Chief Executive Officer of Falcon Waterfree Technologies. “However, without great leadership, great technology never makes it to the forefront. The real heroes are Mayor Villaraigosa, the City Council, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and the Metropolitan Water District. They’ve had the vision and foresight to provide a platform for Falcon and other conservation trailblazers to assist the City on its ambitious and exemplary water conservation program.”
There are 540,000 urinals in the City of Los Angeles, each using an average 40,000 gallons of water per year. If every urinal in the city were replaced with a Falcon Waterfree urinal, it would conserve 21.6 billion gallons of water annually.
Securing LA’s Water Supply
In May, the Mayor unveiled a far-reaching 20-year water strategy which calls for meeting 100 percent of all new water demand by 2030 with a combination of conservation and recycling. The unprecedented plan calls for a six-fold increase in water recycling and ramped-up enforcement of water restrictions.
By 2030, the population of Los Angeles is expected to jump by 500,000 people, according to the Southern California Association of Governments, pushing up water demand in the city by 100,000 acre-feet per year, or 15 percent.
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