Why is it that schools can put solar panels on their schools and a non-profit organization can build water cisterns that can hold 200K gallons, yet DWP, our city-run utility cannot find the ways to do this themselves.

Amazing! Don’t trust them with Measure B. Please vote NO. Has not been truly studied and would open the door for the City to start charging mucho dinero for energy, under the guise of a ‘green initiative.’

I want solar power, but not at their-yet-unknown rates.

So obviously, not every individual house would be able to collect near that much. That said, many city parks could!

Here’s the full press release, for people who’re interested :)
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Rescue the Rainwater
TreePeople Captures 216,000 Gallons from Recent Los Angeles Storms

WHAT
An underground cistern tank in Los Angeles captured 216,000-gallons of water from recent Los Angeles storms.

WHERE
TreePeople’s headquarters in Coldwater Canyon Park, an L.A. City park.

WHEN
Rainfall captured over the weekend’s storm topped water harvested from rains in late 2008.

WHO
TreePeople, an environmental nonprofit organization serving the Los Angeles area, unites the power of trees, people and technology to grow a sustainable future for the Los Angeles region.

WHY
Even with the recent storms, the risk of drought in Los Angeles is not over. According to the California Department of Water Resources, the water content in California’s mountain snowpack, a vital source of drinking water for the state, is at 55 percent of average for this time of year. The long-term forecast for our region is for increasing periods of dryness. At the same time, the rain that does fall is usually conveyed through storm drains out into the ocean where it creates a pollution hazard.

One Southern California nonprofit has a solution to manage stormwater runoff and alleviate drought concerns. This solution also keeps beaches clean and stimulates the economy. At TreePeople’s headquarters in Coldwater Canyon Park, a 216,000-gallon cistern is full from recent rains, delivering a cost-savings approach to the park’s irrigation needs while keeping rain-swept toxins and refuse out of storm drains leading to the ocean.

“In a city that imports more than half of its water, cisterns and other nature-mimicking technologies – such as those used in demonstration sites that TreePeople and its partners have completed in the region – could significantly impact Los Angeles,” said Andy Lipkis, TreePeople Founder and President. “This technology reduces use of potable water for irrigation, decreases our demand for imported water and turns rainwater into a valuable resource at a time of increased competition for limited supplies.”

TreePeople uses a smart, green infrastructure approach to water management. This technology has been applied locally to two parks (Coldwater Canyon Park and Sun Valley Park), two schools (Open Charter Elementary School and Broadous Elementary School) and one single-family dwelling. TreePeople also helped develop the Sun Valley Watershed Management Plan with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works. The effort is the first large-scale Los Angeles application of this smart, green approach and is already resulting in a network of “natural” infrastructure that captures and utilizes rainwater instead of polluting and squandering it.
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