Great Progress and Some Missed Opportunities in LA County Water Plan

September 20, 2023

The Los Angeles County Water Plan was recently released for public review, and it gets a lot of things right. The goal of the plan is to chart a course to “sustainably achieve safe, clean, and reliable water resources for Los Angeles County. LA Waterkeeper submitted comments on the draft, noting some of the things the Plan gets right and where opportunities for improvement remain. 

 Building on Existing Efforts, and Incorporating Core Community Values 

We applaud the county for using the County Water Plan as a chance to further build upon the well-received OurCounty sustainability plan. One of the strong points of the OurCounty plan is the way it effectively engaged the public and incorporated community input in its drafting. The water plan maintains the same ambitious targets laid out in the sustainability plan, such as the goal to source 80% of the county’s water locally by the year 2045. And it builds clear “crosswalks” to help readers understand how the water plan connects to, and moves us closer to meeting the goals of, the OurCounty plan. 

We are also excited to see that the water plan includes core values that LA Waterkeeper considers to be essential to achieving a sustainable water system in the long term. These values include: 

• Equity; 

• Community engagement; 

• Encouraging multi-benefit projects and green infrastructure; 

• Integrating nature-based solutions; 

• Promoting capacity building of a local skilled workforce; and 

• Incorporating tribal knowledge into water management planning and decision making. 

We will continue to work with the county to ensure these values are elevated even more in the final County Water Plan. One way the final version of the plan could improve on the draft that’s been circulated would be to further weave these core values throughout the plan’s narrative to demonstrate how they can be implemented on a practical level. 

Opportunities for Improving the Plan    

The County Water Plan does well in setting an ambitious goal for local water self-sufficiency. However, the plan undersells the opportunity to enhance local water supplies through both centralized and decentralized stormwater capture and reuse. During the campaign for Measure W (which now funds the Safe Clean Water Program), it was often said that our goal was to double the amount of stormwater already being captured to enhance current water supplies. LA Waterkeeper has recommended to the county that this goal be considered the minimum target included in the water plan. Based on what was captured with current infrastructure this year – albeit a very wet year – we believe an even higher target may be achievable. A mix of larger and smaller projects should be used to achieve this target, giving priority to nature-based solutions, particularly in communities that lack green space. 

 Another concerns of ours is that a number of sections in the draft plan suggest “negotiating” with regulators on various clean water and other requirements. LA Waterkeeper believes it is imperative to maintain the highest possible protections for ecological and community health. To that end, we encourage county staff to focus on how best to comply with regulatory requirements, rather than giving any consideration to finding ways to get around them. 

Suggestions for Future County Water Plans 

Despite the strengths of this plan, there are some components missing that we hope will be added into future iterations. Much of the plan focuses on water supply and drinking water – both incredibly critical needs – with a heavy emphasis on tactical approaches to achieve ambitious goals in these areas. But this focus leaves out the big picture view of the overall health of our water system. The health of our rivers and creeks, wetlands, watersheds, and coastal waterways is inextricably intertwined with having a safe and abundant water supply for drinking and other uses. The County Water Plan would be much improved by focusing on our waters more holistically, and we hope to see that perspective added the next time it is updated. 

Moving forward, LA Waterkeeper believes the County could take a more strategic approach to how we can develop sustainable and resilient local water supplies, and ensure the health of our waterways. While this plan is a big step in the right direction, there is more work to be done toward that essential goal.