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Nearly 80 billion gallons of rainwater are captured by Los Angeles County

Ricardo Roura Avatar

By Ricardo Roura

Apr 15, 2024, 2:36 PM EDT

About 80 billion gallons of water were captured by Los Angeles County during the 2024 rainy season, according to county Public Works.

Since late January, regions of Southern California faced an intense rainy season that allowed the state to reverse a dry start and achieve, for the second consecutive year, a sufficient snow cover above the average for this time of year.

Even downtown Los Angeles had one of the rainiest February months since historical records have been kept for more than 100 years.

Due to recent rains, rockfall was recorded on Malibu Canyon Road near the tunnel, which caused the closure of the road from Pluma Road to Civic Center Drive. Much of what fell on the road is sandstone, which is quite porous and breaks easily.

Steve Burger of Los Angeles County Public Works said: The 80 billion gallons of rainwater that could be captured are ready to be reused.

A man walks his dog on the edge of the Los Angeles River, carrying stormwater downstream Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024, in Los Angeles. The second of back-to-back atmospheric rivers battered California, flooding roadways and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands and prompting a rare warning for hurricane-force winds as the state braced for what could be days of heavy rains. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
The storms increased the current in the Los Angeles River.
Credit: Damian Dovarganes | AP

According to Burger, this amount of water is enough to meet the needs of about 2 million county residents.

In March, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) reported that rainwater harvesting had exceeded 13.5 billion gallons of water.

Given the large amount of water that fell during the season, the risk of landslides and landslides increased in several areas of the county, such as Malibu Canyon Road.

Along the roads where the canyon crosses, Burger said inspection teams marked some of the largest rocks that could represent a risk of detachment, so they are kept under constant monitoring.

Keep reading: In sight, a new storm system that threatens Southern California for the weekend

If any strange movement is detected, a preventive closure is carried out, or even high pressure hoses can be used to knock down those rocks and thus reduce the danger of a major landslide.

According to Public Works, Los Angeles County averages 15.4 inches of rain each year. However, from October 2023, 21 inches of stormwater have been recorded.

Keep reading:
· For the beginning of the week, light rain is forecast for Southern California
· Despite winter storms, California snowpack remains below average
· Steady rains cause flooding and evacuation warnings in Los Angeles County