LA moving ahead with stormwater ordinance

The Los Angeles City Council has unanimously approved a Low Impact Development (LID) ordinance developed by the city’s Bureau of Sanitation at the direction of the Board of Public Works (BPW). The proposed ordinance is now with the city attorney’s office for review and will come back to the City Council for adoption later this year, according to a press release from the council.

The new LID ordinance requires that all stormwater from a ¾in.-or-more rain event is captured, infiltrated, and used on most developments and redevelopments where more than 500 SF of hardscape is added.

The release explains that the ordinance requires development projects to address stormwater runoff by building in a manner that captures water at its source using natural resources including rain barrels, permeable pavement, storage tanks or other stormwater containment, infiltration swales, or curb bumpouts to contain the water.

The press release stated that the new ordinance will “bring Los Angeles into the 21st century way of stormwater management.”

“With this ordinance, we will be officially recognizing that rainwater is too precious a resource to waste,” said BPW Commissioner Paula Daniels, who crafted the ordinance.