A new proposal that was approved last month by the Department of Public Works in Los Angeles, CA will require new homes, large developments and some redevelopments to capture, reuse or infiltrate 100% of water during rainstorms.  Those not in compliance will be required to pay a storm water pollution mitigation fee that will fund off-site, low impact public developments. 

This is a much needed approach to manage storm runoff that pollutes the ocean and an innovative way to use grey water to maintain LA’s love of green lawns in an area facing severe droughts. 

According to Board of Public Works Commissioner Paula Daniels, the new requirements will prevent 104 million gallons of polluted runoff from reaching the ocean.  This goal will be reached by requiring builders to use rainwater storage tanks, permeable pavement, infiltration swales or curb bump outs to manage the water during storms. 

Those unable to meet the new requirements will be hit with a penalty of $13 per gallon of runoff water.  This is a steep price to pay, but these fees will fund public low impact developments, including projects with porous pavement, bio-retention basins and other water infiltration strategies created to capture 2 million gallons of storm water.

Low impact development is key in all parts of the country and this is a great way to implement water conservation for landscaping as well as reduce the amount of toxic runoff, to heal the oceans as well as reduce the amount of water used in areas facing steep rationing and the high price of water.

LA can preserve their green oasis of lawns and palms as well as reduce the toxicity of the pacific with a simple or not so simple implementation depending on how you look at it.   While low impact development techniques are embraced, it might become financially unfeasible for builders to meet these goals given certain soil issues. 

Given different site issues the capture and reuse of runoff water might be too costly to implement and further erode the ability for developers to meet demands.  Clearly this isn’t a one size fits all approach, but a great undertaking for a large population with little state water.