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In Los Angeles, the Grass Isn’t Always Greener This Year

/in , /by /New York Timesby Jill Cowan

Erin Brockovich made her name decades ago as an environmental activist who exposed corporate wrongdoing that polluted drinking water.

So she felt a bit defensive when a television reporter asked how her name landed on a list of water guzzlers during a dire California drought. At one point last year, she received a $1,700 bill for two months of water and fines.

Ms. Brockovich ultimately decided she had to get rid of her lawn, a central part of the backyard oasis she had built over more than two decades living in Agoura Hills, a suburb of large homes with immaculate yards about 40 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. She replaced 3,100 square feet of grass with high-tech artificial turf.

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Amid Water Restrictions, L.A. Residents Can Get Free Recycled Water for Lawns

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Summer Lin

Angelenos can stock up again on gallons of recycled water to irrigate their trees, plants and lawns — and free of charge through a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power program.

Mayor Eric Garcetti announced the reopening of two recycled water fill stations Thursday at the Los Angeles-Glendale Water Reclamation Plant and the L.A. Zoo parking lot.

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California’s Worst Drought on Record Spells Trouble for Classic Green Lawns

/in , , /by /The Wall Street Journalby Jim Carlton

This wealthy Los Angeles suburb is famed for its celebrity residents and meticulously landscaped homes. After a crackdown on water use, it is now gaining renown for having some of the brownest lawns in America.

“My kids are asking me, what is going wrong with this grass?” said Siran Galstian, whose once verdant lawn is dying. “I have tears in my eyes, because I love the grass and they like playing in it.”

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LA Approves Outdoor-Watering Restrictions

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Daily Newsby Margaret Shuttleworth / City News Service

Water conservation measures announced earlier this month by Mayor Eric Garcetti were approved Wednesday by the Los Angeles City Council, confirming that outdoor watering in the city will be restricted to two days per week based on street addresses beginning June 1.

The restrictions, approved by a 13-0 vote, are more lenient than the one-day limit ordered earlier by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California for areas that are dependent on water from the State Water Project.

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Los Angeles Is Building a Future Where Water Won’t Run Out

/in , , /by /Bloombergby Brian Eckhouse and Laura Bliss

A helicopter whisks off a rooftop in downtown Los Angeles, climbs above a thin layer of haze and soars over barren mountains past the city’s edge. Soon, scars of climatic stress are evident to L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti and Martin Adams, general manager and chief engineer of the city’s water and power department, as they peer out the windows. Trees torched years ago by wildfire. Flats parched by sun and little precipitation.

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In Wealthy LA Enclave, Harsher Penalties for Wasting Water

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Kathleen Ronayne

In a wealthy enclave along the Santa Monica Mountains that is a haven for celebrities, residents are now facing more aggressive consequences for wasting water.

The Las Virgenes Municipal Water District northwest of Los Angeles hopes to spur water savings by making it easier to fine households that go over their allotted “water budgets” and threatening to vastly limit water flow to customers who repeatedly fail to conserve.

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Why Aren’t We Collecting Rainwater? Don’t Worry — Smart People Are Working On It

/in , , /by /NBC Los Angelesby Patrick Healy

Every time it rains, Angelenos might be thinking: are we saving any of that rain water?

Thursday’s storm brought some much needed rainfall, but with a burgeoning drought, many Southern California residents are wondering if we benefitted at all.

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Daily Showers Paving The Way For Heavy Rain Next Week

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Paul Duginski, Hayley Smith

Light to moderate precipitation in Southern California on Thursday may pave the way for a much stronger Pacific storm early next week, forecasters said.

Thursday’s drizzle is expected to deliver about a quarter-inch of rain to the Los Angeles area — only slightly more than the rainfall totals earlier this week — and taper off by the early evening.

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Pair of Storms Expected to Bring Rain to SoCal This Week

/in , , /by /KTLA 5by Tony Kurzwell, Henry DiCarlo

A pair of storms are on their way to Southern California this week and will bring the region a chance of showers on Tuesday and Thursday.

Above-average temperatures are expected on Monday, but clouds will begin to increase later in the day as a weak weather system begins to move over the Southland.

Forecasters are calling for a chance of rain Tuesday afternoon, with only about .10 of an inch expected.

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How Safe Is LA’s Water? Environmental Group Says Legal Standards Still Pose Health Risks

/in , /by /ABC7by Carlos Granda

You turn on the tap and expect clean water. But what exactly is in that water?

Analysts at EWG, a nonprofit environmental group, found a number of chemicals that are known to cause cancer.

“We want people to understand that there are health risks,” says Sydney Evans, an EWG science analyst. “You might not take a drink of your tap water today and get sick tomorrow but down the road there are going to be heightened risks.”

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