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Pasadena residents urged to suspend outdoor watering from Sept. 6-20
Guaranteed income program begins for 1,000 LA County residents
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By City News Service By City News Service
Watering should be done only in the early morning or late at night to minimize water loss due to evaporation and to be sure to water only once every four days. | Courtesy photo
More than four million residents in Los Angeles County were urged Tuesday to suspend outdoor watering for 15 days next month while the Metropolitan Water District repairs a leak in a water delivery pipeline.
The repairs will take place from Sept. 6-20, and will impact the cities of Beverly Hills, Burbank, Glendale, Long Beach, Pasadena, San Fernando and Torrance.
Residents in the Central Basin Municipal Water District, Foothill Municipal Water District, Three Valleys Municipal Water District and West Basin Municipal Water District will also be impacted.
Officials discovered a leak in the 36-mile Upper Feeder pipeline, which delivers water from the Colorado River to Southern California, earlier this year. The pipeline was running at a reduced capacity after a temporary repair while officials designed a more permanent solution. "The temporary fix we have in place has allowed us to operate the pipeline at a reduced capacity over the summer, but it is not intended to last long-term," MWD General Manager Adel Hagekhalil said at a news conference at Burbank Water and Power's Ron E. Davis Eco Campus. "We cannot delay this repair any further -- doing so risks a failure and the potential for an unplanned, emergency situation."
Residents and businesses throughout the county were called on to temporarily suspend all outdoor watering, including drip irrigation and hand- watering. The MWD recommends trees and gardens be pre-watered before the shutdown and maintained using water collected from the sink and shower. Additional watersaving tips in preparation for and during the shutdown are available at mwdh2o. com/shutdown. "During this shutdown, we'll be tapping into a very limited supply of water to deliver to these communities," MWD board Chairwoman Gloria Gray said. "So we must eliminate all outdoor water use and do everything else we can to conserve for 15 days. We want to thank residents and businesses in advance for their support and recognizing the watersupply challenges our region faces."
Officials provided tips to residents prior to the shutdown, including delaying new plantings until after Sept. 20, avoiding fertilizing lawns and plants and turning the sprinkler timer off on the evening of Sept. 5. "This shutdown has been months in the making," MWD System Operations Manager Brent Yamasaki said. "Imagine you've got a bridge with a pipeline on it, it's 1,000 feet and it crosses a river. You don't want to do this in the wintertime when it's raining. We want to do this now ... rest assured we are going to be working 24-7 to get this work done."
Residents can view a map of affected areas and get more information at mwdh2o. com/projects-in-your-community. L os Angeles County's guaranteed basic income program is underway, with 1,000 residents now receiving $1,000 a month for the next three years, officials said Tuesday.
The recipients were chosen randomly from more than 180,000 people who applied for the program. "Given the huge number of L.A. County residents who applied, it's abundantly clear that a guaranteed basic income is an idea whose time has come," Supervisor Sheila Kuehl said. "I'm confident that we will see what other pilots have already shown: that a guaranteed basic income, by giving people a bit of financial breathing room, allows them to stabilize their lives and that of their family. "Three years from now, I feel confident that this L.A. County program will be seen as a foundation stone that led to expanded programs providing economic opportunity and stability to every eligible American household," Kuehl continued.
The county Board of Supervisors voted to develop the pilot program last year to address poverty and income instability.
Participants must be at least 18 years old, have a household income under $56,000 for a single person or $96,000 for a family of four and have experienced negative impacts due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The L.A. County participants were chosen by the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Guaranteed Income, which is researching guaranteed income programs across the country.
Recipients receive the money via debit card. They range in age from 18 to 91 and live in communities throughout the county, speaking languages including Armenian, Cantonese, Farsi, Korean, Mandarin, Spanish and English, according to officials with Breathe: L.A. County's Guaranteed Income Program.
The program administrator, Strength Based Community Change, will keep in touch with the selected participants and assist them throughout the duration of the program to help them reach their personal and financial goals, officials said.
The pilot program is based on a similar program in Stockton, California, that has been praised for its success. The city of Los Angeles introduced a guaranteed basic income program, called BIG:LEAP, last year.
