Congressional panel coming to LA to discuss water crisis

Rep. Grace Napolitano, D-Santa Fe Springs, will hold a rare congressional hearing on the state's water crisis in Los Angeles Jan. 25, she announced Wednesday.

The field hearing of the House Natural Resources subcommittee on Water and Power, which Napolitano heads, will be the first congressional hearing on the California drought that has been held in Southern California in at least a dozen years, Napolitano said. Multiple hearings on the subject have been held in the northern and central parts of the state, she added.

The congresswoman said those parts of the state could learn a lot from the conservation and water recycling efforts of Southern California.

"This is something that Southern California has taken great pride in, and done for a long time. We want experts to tell us what is being done here, what else we need to do, and what role the government should play in it," she said.

Besides addressing innovations developed in this region that can be applied across the state, the hearing will more broadly explore climate trends and increased demand for water.

"We need to be able to focus on how Northern California issues affect Southern California, particularly when it comes to the cost of water," Napolitano said.

Total water consumption in Southern California is similar today as it was in 1980, despite population growth, according to Anthony Fellow, board member of the Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District.

Fellow celebrated Napolitano's decision to hold the hearing in Los Angeles.

"It's a gutsy move," he said.

The hearing will begin at 1 p.m at the Metropolitan Water District, 700 North Alameda Street.