Meeting Southern California’s Demand for Clean Water Through 2033
“You talk to people, and they don’t understand our water. They come and turn on a tap and drink clean water, and to them, that’s amazing. Millions of people around the world must carry water miles and miles, and that’s all they have. It’s hard for Americans like myself to even understand that.” – Forrest Griffin, mixed martial arts legend
Water is life. Most Californians take its omnipresence for granted. Not much thought is given to where all our clean water comes from. Of course, those of us who proudly work to make this miracle a reality for everyone else know how much hard work and forward planning is required to keep the clean water running.
Every year, 1.5 trillion gallons of water are consumed in our region. That’s a mighty big number; it takes a minute for it to register. It’s equivalent to consuming all the water in Lake Tahoe every year. It’s roughly equal to the annual rainfall we receive in non-drought years.
About 40% of our water is used for domestic purposes, drinking, cooking, bathing, and washing clothes. Another 25% of it is used in industry, manufacturing, agriculture, and power generation. About 20% of it is used to maintain wetlands and streams. Finally, in a place where clean water has always just been ‘assumed’, we actually lose about 15% of it is wasted.
Thanks to the multiple water districts and our water infrastructure, most people never have to worry about where the next clean bath, or glass of water is going to come from. Our farmers always have the water they need to grow the crops that feed us. With continued excellence in resource management and infrastructure planning, that will continue. Still, there are a few growing pressures coming over the next ten years which will need to be considered and planned for.
One of these is the projected population growth. Between now and 2033, the natural birth rate and immigration are going to bring another 3.1 million people to Southern California (California Department of Finance., “California Population Projections”, December 2022). To meet the shift in demand, we will need to put more resources behind water conservation, desalination, and water recycling. We’ll have to find ways to improve the efficiency of water use in agriculture and industry. The climate change challenge will also add complexity to the planning and provision of our water needs. This will make it even more important to implement water conservation and efficiency measures.
The existing water treatment infrastructure in Southern California is already strained. Ongoing investment will be required to ensure our region continues to keep pace with the growing demand for clean and safe water. Otherwise, we’ll be facing a number of serious problems, including water shortages, increased water prices, decline in agricultural production and environmental damage.
Already, several major projects are in the planning phases. A few of these include:
Pure Water Los Angeles: The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) is investing in a $2.2 billion project which will produce 50 million gallons of recycled water per day for drinking, irrigation, and industrial purposes.
Water Infrastructure Improvement Program: This is a $10 billion plan to upgrade and expand the water infrastructure in Southern California. It includes projects to improve water storage, treatment, and delivery.
Groundwater storage: Depleted aquifers are being readied to capture and store excess water during wet years for during dry years.
Desalination projects: A few desalination projects are also planned over the next few years.
Other projects which have been proposed, but are not yet approved include:
Sites Reservoir: This is a proposed $15 billion project to build a new reservoir in the Sacramento Valley. The reservoir would store water from the Sacramento River and would be used to supplement the water supply in Southern California.
Tule Springs Groundwater Storage Project: This is a proposed $1.3 billion project to store water underground in the Tule Springs area of Nevada. The project would help to capture excess water during wet years and make it available during dry years.
Burro Creek Desalination Plant: This is a proposed $1.2 billion project to build a new desalination plant in the Imperial Valley. The plant would produce 50 million gallons of desalinated water per day, which would be used for drinking and irrigation purposes.
Greenlighting these projects will require successful completion of economic and environmental impact studies. These projects are expensive to build and operate. The total financial investment required to support all water projects, planned, and proposed over the next ten years is estimated to be between $50 billion and $100 billion. (Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, “Water for a Sustainable Future”, January 2023). Funding can come through several different sources, including government, private financing, public-private partnerships, and water bonds. Of course, the amount that comes from each source would differ by project, depending on a number of factors, including the political will to support water projects. The stronger the public support, the more likely it is that the government will provide funding. Also, capital requirements have a lot to do with it. A large-scale water project, like the Sites Reservoir, is likely to require a significant amount of government funding but a smaller-scale water project, such as a water conservation program, would probably be funded by private financing or possibly public-private partnerships.
All told, some estimates suggest that the following amounts could come from each sources as found in this diagram.
Environmental issues, like fish migration patterns also must be considered. The following table illustrates some of these concerns, by project.
