Mar 4 2019
Recently, the city officials of Los Angeles have announced that by 2035, the city would recycle 100% of its wastewater by taking initiatives to markedly enhance water conservation and reduce dependency on imported water.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti overlooking the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant. (Image credit: Courtesy Office of Mayor Eric Garcetti)
This move to recycled water has been supported for a long time, and in a few cases, it has been recommended for by climate change and sustainable water management professionals at UCLA, through discussion on the Los Angeles mayor’s water cabinet and the board of the Metropolitan Water District as well as studies. Important studies include a sustainable water management report for the city on steps to attain 100% local water, as well as a five-part research project into the estimated impacts of climate change on the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the state’s main water source.
This study supports the UCLA Sustainable LA Grand Challenge, which targets at the transformation of L.A. County to completely renewable energy and local water, with improved ecosystem health by 2050.
The city’s new plan is moving us toward the Sustainable LA goals faster than almost anyone thought was possible.
Mark Gold, Associate Vice Chancellor of Environment and Sustainability, UCLA.
According to a news release, in 2035, the volume of water supply in the city acquired from recycled water, under the city’s plan, would increase from the existing 2% to 35%. Of Los Angeles’ four sewage treatment facilities, three have previously recycled water to a certain extent. According to Gold, the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant, which is the fourth one, is the largest water treatment facility located west of the Mississippi and a historic perpetrator in the contamination of the Santa Monica Bay.
The mayor’s bold and visionary announcement marks the dawn of the city’s transformation to a sustainable water management future where every drop of local water is treated as essential. The transformation of the city’s four treatment plants to full water recycling can supply Los Angeles with approximately a third of our annual water supply: the most critical step in making this megacity a sustainable L.A.
Mark Gold, Associate Vice Chancellor of Environment and Sustainability, UCLA.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and UCLA Chancellor Gene Block (fellow co-chair) co-chair the L.A. Sustainability Leadership Council, which was formed in collaboration with UCLA.
Conservation is about more than how we respond to a dry year—it should shape how we prepare our city for tomorrow. Maximizing L.A.’s recycling capacity will increase the amount of water we source locally, and help to ensure that Angelenos can count on access to clean water for generations to come.
Eric Garcetti, Mayor, Los Angeles.
As expected by Gold, UCLA faculty carrying out wastewater research, like professors Michael Stenstrom and Eric Hoek, part of UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, and David Jassby, a water resources engineering expert, could be influential in promoting technologies that are capable of making large-scale wastewater recycling facilities both technologically and economically feasible.