A coalition of conservation groups wants Southern California to get 85% of its water locally by 2045, up from the 50% it gets now, and says a new plan shows how.
It is urging state leaders to cancel plans for a 45-mile tunnel under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and is considering asking voters to approve a bond measure to fund local water solutions. The 34-page strategy was released as important decisions loom for local officials, California’s next governor and legislators.
Over the past century, Southern California has grown and prospered thanks to vast aqueducts built to bring water from hundreds of miles away – the Eastern Sierra, the Colorado River and Northern California.
but with this water costs are increasing And with climate change threatening these remote sources, there is growing interest in finding ways to get more water locally.
Allied groups are calling for recycling more wastewater, capturing more stormwater, improving efficiency and cleaning up contaminated groundwater.
“We have to prioritize our investments, and prioritizing them in local waters makes the most sense,” said Bruce Reznik, executive director of the Los Angeles Waterkeeper group.
The coalition includes fishing groups, environmental organizations and the Winnem Wintu Tribe of Northern California.
Its Plan There have been calls for a “new urban water renaissance” in California that prioritizes local water. This approach would reliably yield higher yields and cost much less than the one proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom Delta Conveyance Project Below the delta.
The state estimates the tunnel will cost $20.1 billion in 2024, but opponents say it could cost three to five times that much.
“Local water is reliable, it’s more affordable, and it’s more flexible, so we’re not forcing California ratepayers to pay higher bills that they don’t need,” said Kyle Jones, a water expert and consultant who helped craft the plan for the coalition.
Southern California imports about half its water from other regions.
The coalition’s plan says the region could secure up to 2 million acre-feet of local water per year. It estimates the cost of greater conservation and efficiency, more stormwater and groundwater cleanup, and greater water recycling at $44 billion over two decades. In contrast, the Delta Tunnel, It could cost $60 billion to $100 billion, It is called.
Whether the tunnel project is ultimately built may depend on whether large water agencies, including the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, decide to participate and pay for it.
1. Cranes rise above the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant in Van Nuys. 2. When completed, Los Angeles will nearly double the amount of recycled water for its 500,000 residents. 3. The storage tanks are placed behind a fence before being placed in the ground at the plant. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
“Metropolitan water districts really have an important choice on this, which impacts not only their ratepayers but every single person in the state,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parilla, executive director of the Restore the Delta group. “Are we going to spend $20, $60, maybe up to $100 million on a tunnel? Or are we going to invest significant money in local solutions that provide water resiliency and sustainability for everyone in California? That’s what’s at stake right now.”
The Metropolitan Water District is already Plan A big new feature Converting waste water into pure drinking water in Carson. There are also Los Angeles and San Diego Construction of water recycling plants.
“At the same time, imported water from the Northern Sierra and Colorado River provides the foundation of water supply reliability for Southern California,” said Shivaji Deshmukh, MWD general manager.
He said MWD invests in water efficiency and stormwater harvesting, and has helped reduce per capita water use by more than 40% since 1990.
The agency’s 38-member board last year adopted a climate adaptation strategy that sets goals for provisioning additional water.
los angeles city leaders and LA County Supervisors also set goals to become more self-reliant at the local level.
Advocates writing the policy plan said these efforts should be accelerated and expanded. He reported that Colorado River reservoirs are falling to dangerously low levels, and native fish in the Delta are declining because water pumping is causing ecological damage.
“Climate change is exacerbating the challenges in those ecosystems, meaning there will be less and less water available for import,” said Ashley Overhouse, water policy adviser for the group Defenders of Wildlife. “All the time, the price of water continues to rise.”
About 20 other environmental groups supported the coalition’s strategy.
“If we really want to create a place of abundance once again, we have to do a better job in the next 100 years than we did in the last 100 years,” said Frankie Myers, a member of the Yurok tribe in Northern California. “The idea that we can steal … and divert water to our will without any consequences is gone.”
Construction continues on the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant in Van Nuys in October 2025.
(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)
Benjamin Bass, a UCLA scientist who studies How climate change is affecting the Colorado River And other water sources joined the group as they presented their proposal in an online briefing.
“Traditional sources of imported water are less reliable than before,” Bass said. “The most reliable source of water in the future is local water.”
Other experts have also reached similar conclusions.
Researchers at the Pacific Institute, a water think tank in Oakland, have examined reforms such as fixing leaks in pipes, shutting down ineffective washing machines and toilets, and replacing thirsty lawns with plants suited to the state’s Mediterranean climate.
In a 2022 report, they found that a set of standard practices and technologies could reduce total urban water use by 30% or more.
