Millions of MWD customers in SoCal asked to stop outdoor watering for 15 days
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Millions of Southern Californians are being asked to not water their lawns for a two-week period next month.
The request is not related to the drought.
The Metropolitan Water District has to shut down and repair a major pipeline during that time.
An alternate water supply will be made available, but it will be more limited than the normal supply, which is already tight during the state's extended drought.
Starting Sept. 6, about 4 million customers who live in the MWD service area will be asked not to water outdoors for 15 days.
A map of the service area and information about the project can be found here.
The impacted MWD service area includes Malibu and Calabasas, Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, Beverly Hills, Torrance, Inglewood, Long Beach, Downey and Pomona, and foothill communities.
The service area does not include the city of Los Angeles, which is served by the city's Department of Water and Power.
MWD customers are also being asked to take shorter showers and look for other ways to save water during that time.
The district discovered a leak in the pipeline earlier this year. They patched it up while the district manufactured the 10-foot diameter pipe needed to replace what's been damaged.
"For this 15 day shutdown, we're switching over to an alternate supply which is very limited," said Brent Yamasaki with the MWD. "And so that's why we're asking for the public's help."
Outdoor watering is about half the water used by the average household. So eliminating that will help the agency provide water for essential uses while the supply is reduced.
Other watering restrictions are already in place for other parts of Southern California not impacted by this repair work. For those homes, watering is already restricted to one day a week, starting June 1.
Yamasaki says homeowners are likely to see their lawns turn brown during this period but the grass should recover when the restrictions are lifted after Sept. 20.
