Los Angeles

Residents Volunteer Homes for Water-Saving Project

Six Los Angeles residents are joining the movement to try and cut people's water bills in half by volunteering to use a system that collects rain water for future use.

The LA Storm Catchers Project, an initiative of the LADWP, the Bureau of Sanitation and the LA County Flood Control is aiming to get people to use these large water-collecting tanks that turn rain water into more planting water.

"I think it looks cool," said Craig Welzbacher, one of the six volunteers. "It's kind of a symbol of progress environmentally for us."

The green tanks can potentially turn one half an inch of rain water into 300 gallons of water for use at a later date, according to a representative from Tree People, the non-profit organization that is investing in the project.

Welzbacher had no issue with volunteering to use the water tanks in his home, as Tree People provided him with the $5,000 system.

"We would love to see home owners like Craig and business owners to put up tanks like this in Los Angeles," said Debbie R, of Tree People.

That's the organization's hope. That through investing in the project now, they won't just save water to use later, but also get people and the city to place tanks in most LA homes.

For now, however, six volunteers have set the movement in motion; the LA County Board of Supervisors is set to discuss the matter next month.

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