California Senate Proposes $1.5 Billion for Drought-Resilient Water Supply
May 5, 2022
Downtown Los Angeles skyline.
Contact:
To speak with Bruce or Lauren please email sev@publicgoodpr.com or call 415-336-9623.
Bruce Reznik, Executive Director of Los Angeles Waterkeeper can speak to details about these restrictions and the CA Senate proposed ‘Drought Resilient Water Supply Grants’ program to assist with recycling, stormwater capture, and groundwater cleanup.
Lauren Ahkiam can speak to jobs that will be created through these initiatives.
A Step Toward Climate Resiliency and Sustainable Water Supplies
This week the California Senate proposed a $1.5 billion package for drought-resilient water supply grants as part of a historic $18 billion dollar climate proposal. Clean water advocates today expressed optimism upon the release of the budget plan, see this press release from Community Water Center.
These funds could have a major impact on making the Los Angeles region more water secure and climate resilient, while also creating thousands of new jobs. Specifically, these funds could make a difference on:
WASTEWATER RECYCLING - The LA region currently dumps around 500 million gallons of wastewater into the ocean every day – about 40% of the county’s daily water usage. 330 million gallons of this water could be purified and reclaimed over the next 15 to 20 years, making the region far more water resilient.
STORMWATER CAPTURE - LA County alone sees an astounding 100 billion gallons of runoff every year, which comes from the nearly 100 million gallons that run off on dry days and the 5 to 10 billion gallons or more that can run off during a major storm event. State funding can augment what LA County residents are already investing in stormwater projects to stop pollutants flowing into our rivers, creeks, lakes, and ocean. We can even capture, treat and use this water to build up our local water supplies, while also greening local communities. Solutions like Urban Orchard in South Gate are good examples of these types of multi-benefit stormwater solutions.
GROUNDWATER REMEDIATION - In LA County, groundwater is at the very foundation of our local water supplies. Yet, decades of aerospace and other industry have contaminated some of our most crucial groundwater basins, while seawater intrusion has made coastal groundwater basins unusable. Remediating (i.e., removing pollutants from the water) contaminated groundwater can provide millions of acre-feet of ‘new’ water to thirsty LA communities.
CONSERVATION – The most effective strategy for making the LA region more water secure is to re-double our efforts on conservation. A report released by Pacific Institute this month demonstrates that California could reduce urban water use by 30% to 48% through investments in water-efficiency measures. Especially critical will be increasing incentives for turf replacement to drought-friendly, native vegetation, even to the level of agencies doing ‘direct install’ so that lower income residents who cannot pay up-front and wait for rebates can participate in such programs. State funding can help.
Unprecedented water restrictions have been ordered for millions of people in the Los Angeles area, which will change life as we know it starting June 1.
Quotes By LA Waterkeeper And Partners
“The CA Senate’s inclusion of $1.5 billion to assist with recycling, stormwater capture, and groundwater cleanup in their proposed budget is critical as we work to transform the LA County from a region that relies primarily on expensive and environmentally damaging water imports, to a more resilient and water-secure place that relies largely on sustainable local supplies. ”
“LA Waterkeeper also applauds the $1B proposed by Senate Pro Tem Atkins for Biodiversity & Outdoor Access for All to address the dire situation we face in biodiversity loss for our oceans and lands. While this proposal is a significant and meaningful down payment, we hope that additional resources will be allocated to address this crisis and that correcting inequities that have formed from systemic disinvestment in low-income communities of color is a top priority for these programs.”
“By investing in the water supply projects we need for equitable and sustainable water access, California also has the opportunity to create family-sustaining careers working on these projects if they are high road jobs. The Senate’s budget proposal for “Putting Wealth to Work” can do just that through climate investments with labor standards.”