The L.A. City Council tentatively approved a 3% water rate increase proposed by the city-owned Department of Water and Power (DWP) in a 9-4 vote. But the decision is pending a second vote next week. more ›

Paying bills deems painful for many, especially around the holidays, and now your Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) bill might increase by $5 or more each month. Two rate increase proposals are on hold until the city hires a ratepayer advocate. One proposal aims to increase the utility's Water Quality Adjustment Factor. Another includes a 5% increase in water rates and a 7.5% increase on electricity. more ›

If employees of the Department of Water and Power (DWP) surprise you with a visit, do not open your door. In fact, you might want to call the police. Two men posing as DWP workers ransacked an elderly man's home in the 800 block of North Robinson Street in Silver Lake last week. more ›

Customers of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power are more than a little lit up about some recent billing issues. It seems the DWP has been "issuing late bills to customers and charging exorbitant fees," reports ABC Local. Those affected include L.A. City Councilman Dennis Zine and many of his constituents who have allegedly received bills many months late with fees "totaling in the thousands of dollars." more ›

Los Angeles' Department of Water and Power announced today plans to gut its budget by about $440 million in part by implementing a three-year hiring freeze, effective immediately, in the face of a huge deficit, reports ABC Local. more ›

The heavyweight Hollywood mogul and talent concentration of power was so tremendous last night that the earth gave way, and opened up, and nearly swallowed Tinseltown. Okay, we are totally kidding. There was, however, a sinkhole in Hollywood last night, caused by a water main that was first reported broken at around 9 p.m. last night, just minutes after the Academy Awards ended. more ›

The City of Los Angeles has a job opening for a gig that pays just over a grand a month, and comes with a one-year contract. Bids open next week for a job as a beaver trapper, reports the Daily Breeze. Although it's a City job, the beaver trapping will actually go down in the Owens Valley on a piece of land similar in size to the city of Los Angeles. L.A.'s next beaver-trapper will be charged with "protecting Department of Water and Power equipment and operations that bring water to Los Angeles." more ›

Los Angeles City Council is scheduled to confirm the appointment of a new general manager of the Department of Water and Power today, making energy industry consultant Ron Nichols the sixth person to hold that title since 2007. more ›

Two major solar power projects in Southern California were announced today, proving that the state's commitment to reducing greenhouse gases may be on target. Locally, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power pushed forward plans for what will become the city's largest solar array. Meanwhile, the federal government approved... more ›

Guess what? We live in a desert and water is scarce! And now we are the number one large American city on a list of ten that are running out of water, according to a report assembled and published by 24/7 Wall St. more ›

It may be election day, but the Los Angeles City Council has their work cut out for them as this week is the last to approve items for the March 8th, 2011 ballot. That's the municipal election where half of the City Council is up for grabs along with a number of measures. A couple ballot items are already approved -- like pension reform -- but at this morning's meeting, several more will be considered. more ›

On the heels of major proposed reform at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power comes news that two employees have been charged with fraud for stealing around $3 million, according to the LA Times. more ›

If you live in the Pacific Palisades area you may have noticed that something is a little fishy these days when it comes to your tap water. Customers have reported "a disagreeable odor" at the tap. The LA DWP explains: "the odors are the result of a recent algal bloom in the Santa Ynez Reservoir which serves the Palisades." Next month the reservoir was due to be taken out of service to have a floating cover installed; a cover will "protect the quality of the water in it and prevent any future algal blooms." The DWP says the water might smell foul, but it remains safe to drink. more ›

The city of Bell scandal, in which employees and elected officials were earning astronomical salaries, prompted local governments across California to try to be a little more open with how much they pay workers. Los Angeles became one of those municipalities when City Controller (and likely Mayoral hopeful) Wendy Greuel quickly jumped in and released a massive database -- actually, it's a one long PDF file -- detailing the salaries of some 37,000 employees. more ›

Of the some 40,000 LADWP customers left without power over the last stormy (kinda) day, about 9,900 are still in the dark, according to the utility. That number is made up of 4,800 customers in South L.A., 1,800 on the Eastside and another 1,800 in Koreatown. Crews are still working to restore power as quickly and safely as possible. more ›

City Councilman Richard Alarcon and his wife, Flora, have been indicted on charges they did not live at the Panorama City home whose address allowed the councilman to represent District 7. Now, grand jury testimony from a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power employee suggests that if the Alarcons in fact lived there, they were doing so in the dark without doing much washing up, according to the LA Times. more ›

After yesterday's rainstorm, crews worked through the night and continue to work this morning to get thousands of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power customers' service restored. As of 6:30 this morning, about 13,500 of the LADWP's 1.4 million customers were still experiencing "power service interruptions" according to their latest report. The outages are distributed as follows: South Los Angeles: 6,000; Koreatown: 1,800; Hyde Park: 1,500. They anticipate having another update available around 11 this morning. more ›

It gets hot -- like last week -- and the power goes out. It gets stormy -- like today -- and the power goes out. As of 9 p.m., some 32,000 LADWP customers across Los Angeles were without power, according to utility. more ›

Utility crews are continuing to restore power around Southern California this evening. The most recent updates from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Edison indicate that some 30,000 customers are still without power this evening. As of 5:30 p.m., fewer than 5,000 LADWP customers were affected. Neighborhoods suffering the most impact include Los Feliz (938 affected customers), North Hills (800), Bel Air (372), Mount Olympus (356) and Cheviot Hills (349). more ›

Prior to a 3 p.m. press conference about the outages and energy conservation, the Los Angeles Department of Power and Water is reporting that power has been restored to about 3,000 customers. What neighborhoods are still in the dark? Hollywood (965 customers), Mar Vista (925), Los Feliz (879), Cypress Park (535), Brentwood (393), Bel Air (372), Mount Olympus (356), Echo Park (349), Cheviot Hills (317) and Pacific Palisades (301). "Our crews won’t stop til the job is done," the agency tweeted. more ›

Beyond the 11,000 or so affected LADWP customers in the city of Los Angeles, Southern California Edison is reporting that close to 23,000 of their customers are without power. The hardest hit area was Whittier with 2,366 outages, followed by Carson and Long Beach with 1,709 and 1,292 outages, respectively. The utility said demand for energy hit its record peak usage for the year. more ›

Hundreds of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power crews are out in the field this morning trying to restore power across the Los Angeles. Citywide, an estimated 11,775 customers are currently without power, the department says. more ›

Welcome to the center of the sun. It might look like Southern California but it's not. It's the sun. And you live here now. But despite the ungodly hotness of the 100+ temperatures expected today, the DWP is urging people to conserve energy. more ›

The Daily News has launched a set of columns devoted to explaining something that most of us encounter, deal with, but might not necessarily understand: Our LA DWP bill. more ›

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa this week signed an amended water ordinance for Los Angeles, meaning it now is in effect. Los Angeles Department of Water & Power Customers who water lawns must now adhere to new rules. more ›

The L.A. City Council today approved changes to the city's water conservation ordinance that limits when lawn watering can take place. more ›

After what seemed like an endless stream of water main breaks over the past several months experts determined that the disruptive and damaging bursts were likely caused by the stress put on the pipes due to the water rationing schedule implemented by the Department of Water and Power in conjunction with the City Council. more ›

A 6-inch water main ruptured early this morning in South Los Angeles, causing a loss of service to about 20 homes in the area of the break, reports cbs2. By about 4:15 the water was shut off and crews were actively working on repairing the line. No information about the extent of the damage or the cause of the break has been made available as of yet. On Thursday night a main break in Downtown caused extensive flooding and led to some businesses closing for the evening. Water main breaks, thought to be the result of pressure built in the lines from periods of non-use followed by surges of use, have been a rampant issue in L.A. for over a year. more ›

A water main that broke Thursday night shut down a popular stretch of 6th Street in downtown. At about 8:30 p.m., a 12-inch cast iron main broke, flooding the street, sidewalks and some businesses between Main and Los Angeles streets. Business such as Cole's French Dip and The Varnish, two popular bars, were forced to close. more ›

The LADWP is urging residents to reduce energy if possible because the 8,000-acre Crown Fire is burning in an area of one of the utility's power transmission lines. Although the line has not been damaged, it does pass through the Leona Valley where the blaze is located. The LADWP this morning minimized power imports on the line and began generating power at in-basin power plants to deliver energy to the City as a precaution. more ›