July 20, 2009
PASADENA, Calif. - Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced a
first-of-its-kind partnership between the City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles
Department of Water and Power (DWP) and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Pasadena, Calif., and its managing institution, the California Institute of
Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, to establish Los Angeles as a powerhouse
for demonstrated energy and water innovation. This partnership will leverage
JPL's intellectual assets directly to the DWP to reduce water usage and
greenhouse gas emissions and, in the process, stimulate green job growth.
Mayor Villaraigosa, JPL Director Charles Elachi and Los Angeles DWP General
Manager David Nahai made the announcement today at a JPL ceremony to sign the
memorandum of understanding.
"The City of Los Angeles, JPL and DWP are standing at the forefront of the clean
technology revolution that will drive the 21st century economy," Mayor Villaraigosa
said. "This partnership will harness Los Angeles' unparalleled creative capital
and entrepreneurial spirit to develop clean and green technologies that will spur
job growth across the board from research, development, construction and finance."
The goal of this partnership is to provide a pipeline for innovative energy and
water solutions directly to the DWP. The program serves as an international model
for water and energy solutions.
The collaboration teams Caltech, one of the world's leading academic institutions of
science and technology, and JPL, its operating division and a world leader in robotic
space exploration, to fulfill the City of Los Angeles' commitment to future water and
energy demand in a reliable, sustainable and economical way.
JPL and Caltech will apply their extensive expertise in climate change science, remote
sensing, environmental engineering and systems design to assist the city and the DWP in
developing, maturing and deploying innovative technologies to improve energy efficiency,
increase the use of renewable energy sources, conserve water and reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. As the largest municipal utility in the United States, the DWP provides safe,
reliable drinking water and electricity to more than 3.8 million residents and businesses,
helping to sustain life, the environment and the city's economic prosperity.
"We are proud that JPL technology and expertise will be part of this collaboration to help
improve energy efficiency and protect our water supply -- one of our most precious natural
resources," said JPL Director Charles Elachi.
Under the terms of the three-year agreement, the participants declare their mutual intent to
collaborate on developing water and energy efficiency solutions and renewable energy technologies.
The participants will work with other local universities such as the University of Southern
California and The University of California Los Angeles, to make energy and water technology
assessments, develop models and test beds, perform technology demonstrations, and provide data
on global change from Earth science satellites, airborne platforms and ground-based instruments
to assist the city in making informed decisions.
"The agreement we are signing today represents a groundbreaking partnership for developing
innovative energy and water solutions to the environmental challenges facing our city and
our planet," said Los Angeles DWP General Manager David Nahai. "Through it we aim to develop
real-world solutions based on unparalleled scientific expertise."
The region's arid climate and large population mean that any shortage in water supply can
have acute effects, which can be further exacerbated by climate change. One project already
being investigated under the collaboration could have immediate applications to Southern
California's current critical water shortage. Much of the DWP's water supply comes from the
Eastern Sierra Nevada, from Mono Lake and the Owens Valley via the California Aqueduct. The
department's vast land holdings include Owens Lake, an ancient dry lakebed whose blowing dust
can impact air quality for Owens Valley residents. To help reduce dust on Owens Lake, the
department and its team of contractors is installing one of the world's largest shallow flooding
systems, which is a computer-controlled network of sprinklers that currently covers more than 14
square miles of the ancient lakebed. But this flooding system consumes significant water-water
that is consequently unavailable to help satisfy the city's residential and industrial needs.
Under the collaboration, JPL and Caltech are investigating the development of a remote sensing
instrument that would measure the lakebed's surface moisture in order to precisely predict when
water needs to be applied. Such an instrument would permit more efficient use of the Owens Lake
sprinkler system, thereby conserving precious water resources.
This is only one example of the fruits of this collaboration; the participants have already
submitted a series of joint proposals to the Department of Energy to develop and deploy advanced
energy technologies. These proposals involve projects to reduce agricultural energy and water consumption;
develop models for predicting the availability of solar, wind and wave energy resources; develop
robust communications architectures for smart grid applications; and develop efficient technologies
for pre-processing food waste used to produce biogases and renewable energy.
The agreement also calls for the DWP to construct a "Sustainable Technology Demonstration Building."
This new building will showcase to the public innovative methods, products and technologies to
reduce energy and water consumption and increase renewable energy.
JPL is managed for NASA by the California Institute of Technology.
Media contacts: Alan Buis 818-354-0474
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Alan.buis@jpl.nasa.gov
Sarah Hamilton 213-978-0741
City of Los Angeles
Sarah.Hamilton@lacity.org
Joe Ramallo 213-367-1394
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
Joseph.Ramallo@ladwp.com
2009-111