In a major step toward the potential construction of one of the largest water recycling plants in the nation, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County were joined today by federal, state and local water leaders to celebrate the start of operations at the Regional Recycled Water Advanced Purification Center.

The 500,000-gallon-per-day demonstration facility takes cleaned wastewater from the Sanitation Districts’ Joint Water Pollution Control Plant and purifies it using an innovative process that could significantly improve efficiencies and reduce costs in water recycling.