The Future Of Stormwater Capture in LA - REDUX

Published Aug 29, 2023, 12:30 PM

#61: OK - with the summer heat back on our backs, it might be hard to remember that just a week ago we had a record-smashing storm. But all that rain had some of our listeners asking us... Where does all that rainwater go? Well the good news is, we did a whole episode answering that question this past winter. But the bad news is... a lot of that water  still goes out to sea. But there's plans to try and change that. Take a listen.

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Remember those intense storms in early January? L.A. County said it captured some 33 BILLION gallons of stormwater to use later and support about 800,000 households a year. It's an important step to help us get through the drought years.

But that awesome number is less than 20% of the total rain water. The other 80% washed right out to sea.

Today we're explaining why that is... and what the county is doing to improve. We're also checking out a success story in a neighborhood park in South LA, that might hold the answer to LA's water woes.

Guests: Erin Stone, LAist Climate Emergency reporter; Steve Frasher, public information officer for LA County Public Works; and Bruce Reznick, executive director of LA Waterkeeper

To learn more about this project, check out Erin's article: https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/how-capturing-more-stormwater-can-also-make-city-parks-better