Gracie WarhurstThe Bureau of Reclamation announced $99.2 million to purify wastewater in Southern California. Funds will go to the Pure Water Southern California program to create an additional water supply through recycling.
The program, facilitated by a partnership with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) and the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, will clean wastewater currently set to go to the ocean. The multi-step purification process would produce 150 million gallons of drinkable water each day at full capacity.
By reusing water from homes, business and industries, the program aims to create a consistent water supply in any weather condition. Some of the program’s goals include refilling depleted groundwater basins, reducing reliance on water from the Colorado River and Sierra Nevada and creating a defense against environmental factors like climate change and earthquakes.
“Water recycling is an innovative and cost-effective tool that can help make our water supplies more reliable, helping communities find new sources to meet their needs today, but most importantly to meet our needs in the future,” Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton said in a statement.
Funding will go toward the project design and improving existing infrastructure. Construction is expected to begin as early as 2026, with the first water delivered by 2032. Eventually, recycled water could supply 500,000 homes.
The award from the Bureau is a part of $450 million over five years for major water recycling initiatives in the Western United States. The Large-Scale Water Recycling Program is a part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).
