Los Angeles’s entire urban and suburban drainage infrastructure is engineered to capture and send storm water into the river rapidly, and then on to the Pacific. Nearly two-thirds of the city is paved, meaning water that might otherwise soak into the ground runs down streets, driveways and sidewalks and into sewers. Along the way, it picks up pollutants before flowing into the Los Angeles River, which cuts across 43 miles of the region before reaching the ocean. One current initiative is to limit the amount of water spilling over into the storm channels. This is believed to lessen the stress on the infrastructure and allow the aquifer to absorb the toll. Ecologically, less volume also allows a slower rate of flow, and more time for water to trickle into the soil and participate in natural cycles. For cities downriver, and ultimately the ocean, limiting storm flow reduces pollution.
Over the next 20 years, proposed storm water capture programs can reduce the water the city buys by 10 to 20 percent, and the annual bill on the imported water by upwards of a hundred million dollars. The estimated cost of water conservation, in various means, is more than $1 billion for the ambitious initiatives set forth by the city of Los Angeles, as well as, neighboring cities. The agenda for capturing rain will consist of installing plots of land where water can soak into the ground (these are known as “spreading grounds”); building underground cisterns for homes and businesses; installing new drainage systems on streets, in homes and in shopping center parking lots; and issuing more of the city-subsidized 50-gallon rain barrels that have become an increasingly common sight in backyards throughout Los Angeles.
Save the Dates: Perma-Liner Industries has a lineup of events for you to attend! All are invited to come to one, or if you’re adventurous, all of our LIVE DEMOS coming up in April and May. You can go to www.perma-liner.com to register and find out more but first…here are the dates and locations to save: We’ll be in Seattle April 27th, Chicago May 4th and Philadelphia May 18th. You can expect to have our knowledgeable staff showing you the latest CIPP technology. We want to see you there!
