SYSTEMS CHANGEWater pollution and the degradation of our inland and coastal waters are the symptom of Los Angeles’ water problems; however they are not the cause. Los Angeles has historically suffered from a profound lack of vision and planning when it comes to its water management, with initiatives largely fragmented, energy and resource intensive, and disconnected from local communities. As a result, the majority of the inland and coastal waterways in LA County are alarmingly polluted; our rivers and creeks now serve as concretized flood protection channels rather than vibrant, healthy riparian ecosystems; and our communities are over-reliant on expensive, inefficient water options such as imports, which contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and disrupt local wildlife, for water supplies. With California’s population growing, changes in climate patterns, and oversubscribed aquifer and river systems, cities like Los Angeles are pressed to find new sources of water. This fractured approach to water management is putting the region’s 10 million residents, our water-dependent economy, and the health of our waterways and watersheds at risk.
Ultimately, our Systems Change work aims to promote a ‘4R’ (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Restore) approach to provide local water supplies. Specifically, this means advocating for greater conservation, stormwater reuse, wastewater recycling and groundwater remediation, while fighting high carbon and unaffordable options like the ocean desalination project proposed along the Santa Monica Bay. LA Waterkeeper – through advocacy and litigation, key partnerships and coalition-building - has been amazingly successful in promoting this 4R approach, including the passage of the landmark Safe Clean Water Program (SCWP) that will provide nearly $300M per year for multi-benefit stormwater projects. By holding our elected and agency officials accountable, promoting a 4R approach to water systems, and partnering with likeminded groups promoting smarter land-use and energy policies, LA Waterkeeper is at the leading edge of creating a new paradigm that will result in more sustainable and equitable water supplies, healthier waterways and communities throughout the LA region.
Safe Clean Water Program
Urban and stormwater runoff is the leading source of contamination of the region’s inland and coastal waters. This runoff also represents a monumental loss of a potentially invaluable resource. Unfortunately, because of LA’s heavy urbanization and lack of open space, stormwater cannot provide the critical function of recharging local aquifers. This results in an estimated 100 billion gallons of runoff water that could be captured and treated stored for future use instead of wasted. The good news is that the best way to capture and reuse this water is by expanding green spaces throughout the region. Such nature-based stormwater solutions will also provide many other benefits to local communities, particularly underserved communities that are park-poor. Benefits of these nature-based projects include reduced heat island effect, improved air quality, expanded recreational opportunities, reduced flood risk, enhanced wildlife habitat, and carbon sequestration.
In 2018, voters throughout Los Angeles County demonstrated their commitment to addressing urban runoff by passing Measure W (the Safe Clean Water Program or SCWP), which provides approximately $280 million per year for multi-benefit stormwater projects. LA Waterkeeper played a lead role in the OurWaterLA coalition, responsible for placing the parcel tax on the 2018 November ballot. To date, SCWP has directed nearly $574M funding to multi-benefit stormwater projects that improve the health of local waterways and make the region more climate-resilient by treating and reusing runoff to enhance local water supplies and green our communities. A few of these projects include Urban Orchard Project, Machado Lake Ecosystem Lake Rehabilitation Project, and Arroyo Seco-San Rafael Treatment Wetlands .
LA Waterkeeper’s Executive Director, Bruce Reznik, currently chairs the SCWP’s Scoring Committee, which is responsible for scoring all projects seeking funding, and on the Central Santa Monica Bay Watershed Advisory Steering Committee (WASC), which is ultimately responsible for selecting projects that will receive SCWP funding in our jurisdiction. In addition, we are currently working with our OurWaterLA partners to improve the program to ensure funding is directed towards nature-based, multi-benefit projects, particularly in disadvantaged communities (DAC).
Visit OurWaterLA to learn more about the program and see more SCWP projects on its reporting map website.
Desal Sucks
Ocean desalination is the most energy-intensive, climate-impacting, and expensive way to increase water resources in Los Angeles County. Its negative impacts are, in many instances, even worse than importing water from outside the region. Intake pipes take in more than seawater — they also suck up marine life. In addition, the byproduct of ocean desalination is a salty brine that can be toxic when dumped back into the ocean, harming marine life and those who rely on these ecosystems. Moreover, it has been estimated that the energy required to run such a facility will contribute an estimated 44,000 metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere every year at a time when our ‘house’ in California is literally on fire, and we need to be taking every step possible to reduce our carbon footprint. Finally, desalinated ocean water costs twice as much as a gallon of imported water and up to three times as much as stormwater.
Despite the laudable progress being made all across the Los Angeles region towards transforming our water management and communities, including sustainably using our water resources, West Basin Municipal Water District has certified an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for a 20 MGD open-ocean desalination project to be located on the shores of El Segundo in the heart of the Santa Monica Bay. Subsequently, in December 2019, LA Waterkeeper filed a lawsuit challenging the West Basin Municipal Water District’s flawed environmental review process under the California Environmental Quality Act. In addition, LA Waterkeeper worked with our Smarter Water LA coalition to activate the community in opposition to this environmentally harmful and costly project.
In December 2021, West Basin Municipal Water District (West Basin) voted 3 to 2 in a special board meeting to terminate a proposed Ocean Water Desalination Project in favor of other local alternatives like wastewater recycling and groundwater. The Board’s vote to terminate the Ocean Water Desalination Project represents a win for the environment and customers West Basin serves, we applaud the board for this decision. Our litigation remains active; however, we now hope that the Board’s termination of the project will allow us to resolve the litigation as expeditiously as possible.
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