The Metropolitan Water District plans to spend up to $250 million on four non-traditional water projects that, combined, could supply up to 100,000 Southern California households over the next few years.
Wastewater recycling, rainwater reclamation and transforming ocean water into drinking water are some of the technologies that could get money in the coming wave of funding from MWD.
The Los Angeles-based wholesaler, which helps transfer water from Northern California and the Colorado River to 26 retail water districts in the Los Angeles region, has spent about $700 million on smaller, non-traditional water projects since launching its Local Resources Program in 1990. The amounts announced Monday, April 15, represent some of MWD’s biggest investments in water innovation to date.
Though the projects won’t be financed directly by MWD (retail water districts and others initially will use MWD’s promises to secure their own financing and, later, to pay down their debts) agency officials said the broader goal is to keep supplying affordable water to local residents and businesses even as climate change reduces or eliminates the region’s traditional supplies.
“It’s been good fortune that we aren’t still in a drought. But we need to plan for that reality,” said Rebecca Kimitch, a spokeswoman for the district.
While the past two rainy seasons have been unusually wet in Southern California, climate scientists and water planners believe the heavy rains and snowstorms have been part of a boom-bust weather pattern associated with climate change in which rainy years punctuate longer stretches of drought or near-drought conditions. Over the long term, as snow packs shrink and the Colorado River becomes shallower, Southern California is expected to get less water from outside sources.
All four of the projects financed by Metropolitan Water could help produce, or reclaim, more local water. They are:
• A waste and groundwater purification project that, starting in 2028, could replenish existing aquifers and generate enough new water for nearly 60,000 households in the San Fernando Valley. Metropolitan Water said it will spend up to $139 million on what is known as the Los Angeles Groundwater Replenishment Project. The lead agency is the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
• A wastewater purification system that, starting in 2028, could supply 15,000 households that get water from the Las Virgenes Reservoir. The so-called Pure Water Project is being co-developed by the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District and Las Virgenes-Triunfo, and will include 18 miles of new pipes in parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Metropolitan Water is committed to spending $42.5 million over the next 29 years.
• Systems that as soon as next year could create enough water for nearly 10,400 Riverside County households by treating contaminated groundwater, protecting existing groundwater resources and preventing future contamination in the San Jacinto Groundwater Basin. The project, known as the Perris North Basin Groundwater Contamination Prevention and Remediation Program, could get up to $26.4 million from MWD over the next 25 years.
• The Doheny Ocean Desalination Project in Dana Point, which could turn salt water into tap water for nearly 17,000 households in south Orange County starting in 2028. The project is spearheaded by South Coast Water District, and Metropolitan Water has committed nearly $40 million over the next 15 years.
The money isn’t unconditional for any of the projects. Metropolitan Water, which last week set its upcoming yearly budget at about $2.4 billion, said it will issue money only when any project comes online and delivers water as projected. If projects fall apart or become less productive, Metropolitan Water can spend less, or nothing.
“We want to incentivize worthy projects,” Kimitch said. “We believe all of these projects will work out.”
Metropolitan Water’s innovation investment program has focused previously on groundwater recycling and recovery. To date, MWD has helped finance 116 programs that, collectively, have generated enough water for about 1.5 million households.
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