DWR Director Karla Nemeth speaks at a ribbon cutting ceremony marking the beginning of operations for California Department of Water Resources Big Notch Project. Photo by Andrew Nixon / DWR
OVER 60 YEARS of Water Recycling
From Nemeth, Page 5
“While we’ve made major progress cleaning up contamination in the San Gabriel Basin, emerging contaminants like PFAS are driving new treatment challenges and costs.” The Basin along with all the agencies that hold water rights would also benefit from Pure Water Southern California, a massive joint water recycling project by Metropolitan and the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts that would include a pipeline to the Basin. At full buildout, the Carson facility would produce up to 150 million gallons per day, enough water to meet the annual needs of about 500,000 homes — the largest in the U.S. “Given the ongoing drought affecting the Colorado River and the uncertain supplies from the State Water Project, the importance of the Pure Water Southern California project is steadily growing,” said LACSD General Manager Robert Ferrante. “The state has provided funding to support planning and preliminary design efforts. It is hoped the state will maintain its support under the new administration.”
the cost and the value,” Nemeth said. In the San Gabriel Valley, about 80% of the water supply for about 1.5 million people is stored in the Main San Gabriel Groundwater Basin. The Main San Gabriel Watermaster administers the Basin’s water rights, and manages and protects the supply. “One major risk is the assumption that groundwater can always fill the gap when imported supplies decline” said Watermaster Executive Officer Kelly Gardner. “Groundwater is a critical resource, but it must be carefully managed and recharged to remain sustainable over the long term.” Gardner also points to contamination challenges in the Basin. The San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Authority (WQA) was established by the state legislature in 1993 to coordinate groundwater cleanup after industrial contaminants were discovered. “Groundwater reliability depends on water quality as much as supply,” said WQA General Manager Randy Schoellerman.
Partially treated wastewater at Whittier Narrows Water Reclamation Plant in 1962. OVER 1 TRILLION GALLONS RECYCLED
Continue Nemeth, Page 18
In Los Angeles County, about half of our drinking water comes from wells pumping up groundwater and the remainder is imported from hundreds of miles away—from the Colorado River and Northern California. In 1962, our Whittier Narrows Water Reclamation Plant began producing recycled water that is used to refill our groundwater basins. Since then, we have been recycling at 10 of our 11 wastewater treatment plants and, along with our water agency partners, have recycled over 1 trillion gallons. That’s enough water to fill an 8-foot diameter pipe that circles the earth 23 times! This recycling reduces the need to import water and makes our region more sustainable. Nonetheless, we are striving to do more. We have partnered with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California on a project to reuse the water from our 11th treatment plant. This project could produce enough water for 1.5 million people, making it one of the world’s largest water recycling projects. For more info, contact us at info@lacsd.org or 562-908-4288, ext. 2301, or visit us at www.lacsd.org/waterrecycling.
LACSD SanDistricts SanitationDistrictsLACounty www.lacsd.org
Water percolating into the ground to refill a groundwater basin.
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