OPINION: We Cannot Afford Pure Water Los Angeles

The Department of Water and Power is developing plans for Pure Water Los Angeles (“PWLA”)  a facility that will convert wastewater to drinking water.  This project will be located at Hyperion, just south of LAX, and will produce an estimated 200,000-acre feet of potable water a year, an amount equal to more than 40% of the City’s annual consumption.

This project is designed to increase the supply of water from local sources (10-15%), reducing our dependence on non-local sources (85-90%).  Today, the City relies on water delivered by the Metropolitan Water District (“MWD”) through the California Aqueduct from Northern California and the Colorado River Aqueduct.  We also receive water via the Los Angeles Aqueduct from sources in the Eastern Sierras and Owens Valley that are controlled by DWP, although this source has been constrained because of environmental issues.