Los Feliz group wants William Mulholland Memorial Fountain turned off amid drought

LOS FELIZ, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The Mulholland Memorial Fountain continues to flow during California's epic drought. Now, the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council is calling for the fountain to be turned off.

"The Mulholland fountain is a gem in our community and turning it off during this critical time will send a clear message that our water resources are in dire need of conservation on all fronts," read a letter sent to the Department of Water and Power by the the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council.

DWP officials said the entire area has been set up to reduce water use.

"We actually replaced what turf was left with a certain kind of turf that is very low water-using, put low-water-using California-friendly plants, and the whole goal was to reduce the water footprint of this site, including the fountain, by more than 75 percent," said Marty Adams with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

Under its new schedule, the fountain is turned off during the daytime. These are the same hours residents aren't supposed to water their lawns.

The fountain was built back in 1940 as a tribute to the man who accomplished the near impossible - building a series of aqueducts, tunnels and dams that brought Northern California water to Southern California. The fountain holds about 50,000 gallons of recirculating water.

"We also want to be very careful to demonstrate that you can have a nice, beautiful landscape that's proper to this environment and to our natural area here, and still use less water," Adams said.

The neighborhood council had the following response:

"While we understand the water used is recycled, we feel the water could be used for more critical uses that go beyond aesthetics. The DWP can set an example to be modeled after in the community the city and the state."

Some area residents said the fountain should stay on.

"I like it and since it is self-contained and we aren't using any additional water, it's already recycling what's in there, why not?" said Jonathan Wallace, a Silver Lake resident.

DWP officials said they are looking into the neighborhood council's recommendation, and they're also studying to find out exactly how much water the fountain is actually using.