Water Conservation

Did you know that an individual uses between 100 and 140 gallon of water each day? Here are some quick tips for saving water that can drastically reduce your daily water usage:

• Install a low-flow showerhead and take a shorter shower (5 gallons)
• Turn off the water while shaving, brushing your teeth, and lathering in the shower (3 gallons)
• Run only full loads in dishwasher and washing machines (9 gallons)
• Sweep (never hose) driveway, patio and sidewalk (150 gallons)  

For more great tips on water conservation, as well as rebate information and other free services, please visit the Water Conservation webpage.

Stormwater Management

Preventing beach and ocean pollution is a priority for maintaining the way of life in Manhattan Beach, and the businesses and residents of this community take that challenge very seriously. The City is particularly focused on the issue of run-off water from storms and other sources, which runs directly to the ocean without benefit of any treatment. The City of Manhattan Beach is taking several actions to keep our ocean safe and clean while complying with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. Some of the major activities that the City is doing include:

• Cleaning out all City-owned storm drain catch basins at least twice per year and on a complaint basis.
• At least weekly street sweeping of all residential and commercial streets including City-owned and/or operated parking lots
• Using clarifiers at the City Yard for vehicle washing and fueling areas.
• Adopting a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Ordinance.
• Enforcing a stringent Illicit Discharge Program.
• Adding permeable pavement in Public Parking lots.
• Implementation of Best Management Practices on City construction and maintenance activities.
• Require contractors working for the City to implement BMPs and good housekeeping measures on City projects.Active public outreach and education program (including this web site!).
• Recently, the City took video of all of its storm drains to check their structural integrity and to ensure that no one has illegally connected to the storm drain system (at this time no one has!).

The City also partners with other organizations to maintain and monitor the quality of beaches. Heal the Bay consistently monitors the pollution levels of our beaches, and posts this information on its Beach Report Card website.  To prevent stormwater runoff and discharge from our restaurants, the City participates in a Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission program to protect our beaches by certifying the business practices of our restaurants. The Clean Bay Restaurant Certification Program verifies that the way restaurants in our City do business actively prevents beach and ocean pollution. For a list of restaurants certified in Manhattan Beach, take a look at the Clean Bay Restaurant Certification Program (PDF) list.  

For more information on the City's efforts to control stormwater pollution, please visit the Public Works Stormwater Pollution Prevention website.

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