By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD LOS ANGELES - Faced with a persistent drought and the threat of tighter water supplies, Los Angeles plans to begin using heavily cleansed sewage to increase drinking water supplies, joining a growing number of cities considering similar measures.
Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa, who opposed such a plan a decade ago over safety concerns, announced the proposal on Thursday as part of a package of initiatives to put the city, the nation’s second largest, on a stricter water budget. The other plans include increasing fines for watering lawns during restricted times, tapping into and cleaning more groundwater, and encouraging businesses and residents to use

LOS ANGELES, California, May 15, 2008 (ENS) - Water conservation and an unprecedented water recycling program are key to the 20 year, $1.5 billion water supply strategy introduced by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa today. While dry seasons and the effects of climate change threaten Los Angeles' future water supply, population growth is expected to increase water demand in the city 15 percent by 2030.
The San Fernando Groundwater Basin is the city's primary local water source, providing 11 percent of the total water supply. But groundwater levels in the basin are declining and its long-term sustainability is threatened.
or water recycling.

LOS ANGELES - Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the Department of Water and Power are expected to announce on May 15 a revised water use and management plan for this city that includes using recycled wastewater to recharge drinking water aquifers, according to a May 15 Los Angeles Times article.
The new plan allocates about $1 billion for the proposed reclamation system, also known as toilet-to-tap or sewer-to-spigot. The city would recycle about 4.9 billion gallons of treated wastewater to drinking standards by 2019, the Wall Street Journal reported on May 15.
uraged to upgrade their appliances to those that are water-saving. The Times reported that financial incentives and building code changes would be used to incorporate high-tech conservation equipment in homes and businesses.

AP LOS ANGELES—Recycling wastewater and further restricting usage are the key elements of a long-range Los Angeles water strategy to be unveiled Thursday.

The initiative would punish water wasters and limit such activities as watering lawns and washing vehicles. And it would revive a controversial effort to recycle sewage water.
By Rich Connell, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
ns a year will have to be saved or recaptured -- enough to cover the San Fernando Valley with a foot of water.