Let’s Talk: Urban Water Management Plans & the Pursuit for a Sustainable Water Future
May 6, 2021
Los Angeles Skyline. Photo by Steven Pahel
In the face of the daunting climate crisis and our ‘new water normal’, we can no longer safely rely on our ‘business-as-usual’ model when it comes to water supply and water management. For years, the City and County of Los Angeles have relied on the rivers of Northern California and the Colorado River as a source of water supply, while flushing our pollution problems down the storm drains, damaging the few local resources we have. Now more than ever we must protect our precious water resources that remain and ensure they are healthy and clean for safe drinking and recreating. Currently, throughout California, Urban Water Management Plans (UWMPs) are being prepared by urban water suppliers, such as the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and West Basin Municipal Water District (West Basin) in Los Angeles. In our pursuit to ensure Angelenos have a sustainable and equitable water future, LA Waterkeeper recently reviewed and provided extensive comments and recommendations on the 2020 LADWP UWMP to ensure we are making progress to our goal of sustainable, equitable, and climate-friendly water supplies for all Angelinos.
Why are Urban Water Management Plans (UWMPs) Important?
UWMPs are updated every five years; these plans outline each suppliers’ long-term water resource planning to make sure that there is enough water to meet both existing and future demands. These documents are critical in planning for our local, regional, and statewide water future. They set the roadmap for how our cities will use water over the coming years as we face the threat of climate change and imminent droughts.
In reviewing these plans, LA Waterkeeper looked out for a few things:
Does the UWMP reflect our long advocated “4R” approach (Reduce water waste, Reuse stormwater, Recycle wastewater, and Restore contaminated groundwater) to the region’s water supplies?
Does the UWMP reflect Los Angeles’ goals outlined in Mayor Garcetti’s Green New Deal Sustainability pLAn (2019 pLAn), including 100% use of recycled water by 2035?
Does the UWMP reflect current declining demand trends and advocate for more conservation?
Does the UWMP plan for the daunting climate crisis and the “new water normal”?
Does the UWMP plan for alternative water supply sources instead of continuing the “pump-and-dump” approach of importing water and dumping excess into the ocean?
What’s Our Verdict on the LADWP 2020 Urban Water Management Plans?
Fortunately, the LADWP UWMP largely reflects the priorities in L.A.’s Green New Deal and many of the sustainable goals of the City of Los Angeles in general. The UWMP plans for the cleanup of groundwater in the San Fernando Valley Groundwater Basin, it accounts for utilizing 150,000 acre-feet of stormwater as outlined in L.A.’s Green New Deal, and it generally plans for the expansion and productive use of recycled water. And while this is all great news, more can and must be done. The UWMP fails to go far enough in outlining a sustainable and equitable water future for Los Angeles. In some areas, the UWMP fails to reflect the ambitious goals already laid out in the L.A. Green New Deal; in other instances, we feel the UWMP must go beyond what is in the 2019 pLAn. In light of our severe climate crisis, now is the time for the UWMP to chart an ambitious vision for the future of the region’s water and dream even beyond what is set in LA’s already ambitious Green New Deal.
Our Recommendations for Improvement
Los Angeles has historically suffered from a lack of vision and planning when it comes to water management, and while we’re thrilled to see the UWMP take a step in the greener direction, we can and should do better. Our recommendations to improve the UWMPs shortcomings include:
Even though the UWMP recognizes demand reductions (thanks to water efficiency measures and Angelinos taking our last drought seriously) within the LADWP service area in its historical demand descriptions, it fails to recognize or incorporate the overall declining water use trends in its future demand projections. Despite overwhelming evidence that water use trends no longer follow growing population trends, the UWMP shows increasing water use in the City until ultimately recovering to 2015 demands or higher for every future demand scenario. As is the case for many water agencies, inaccurately planning for higher water usage can lead to unnecessary investment in new water infrastructure and ultimately leads to higher average costs for ratepayers. LA Waterkeeper requests that the UWMP include at least one demand scenario in which LADWP incorporates declining demand based on current demand trends and the Green New Deal’s goal of using less water per capita.
The City has actively managed to reduce its per capita demand to nearly its 2035 goal of 100 GPCD or gallons per capita per day a full 15 years ahead of schedule, but the UWMP assumes these efforts will cease and fails to project increased conservation trends into the future. With so much success to date, now is not the time for LADWP to press pause. We should instead build on the success we have had thus far to continue moving L.A. to be a world leader on per capita water usage. This is especially true as we recognize the important role increased conservation, derived mostly from a reduction in outdoor water use, would have on reducing the leading source of pollution of local waterways- urban and stormwater runoff. Further, continued conservation must be a centerpiece of future water policy as it is clear that conservation represents a cost-effective way to substantially reduce our carbon footprint. As such, LA Waterkeeper recommends a new conservation goal of at least 80 gpcd or lower for urban water use moving forward.
Through programs like Operation NEXT and Safe Clean Water Program (SCWP), LA is setting itself as a leader in water management. Operation Next will ultimately lead to the reuse of 100% of all wastewater in Los Angeles, SCWP will provide new sources of water through multi-benefit stormwater projects, and proposed clean up of contaminated groundwater basins will provide the dual benefits of salvaging what is now a wasted resource while also ensuring our basins can provide storage for new sources of stormwater and treated wastewater. Each of these programs will help Los Angeles in meeting the 70% local supply goal stated in the Mayor’s Green New Deal, but the UWMP fails to quantify and recognize the full potential of these two local sources of water in its future supply projections. As such, LA Waterkeeper recommends that LADWP incorporate Operation NEXT into its future recycled water supply projections and consider whether additional stormwater capture beyond what is currently planned is possible.
It is imperative that the LADWP 2020 UWMP meets the moment by clearly setting out a bold vision for a sustainable and climate-resilient water future. UWMPs provide the roadmap for decision and policymakers when it comes to managing our water supplies, thus essential in ensuring that water demands are met efficiently and that water supplies are available to meet existing and future water needs. Planning for maximizing a ‘4R’ water approach will help drive us to meet these critical goals, especially as many planned water management projects, such as Operation NEXT, still have many hurdles to overcome. Alternatively, planning for a future where demand goes up as conservation flatlines could encourage decisions that bring this unacceptable reality to fruition.
Santa Monica Bay. Photo by Carl Nenzen Loven
How Can You Help?
Currently, LADWP is planning to present its UWMP to the Board of Water and Power Commissioners for adoption on May 25th during the LADWP Board Meeting. During this meeting, there will be an opportunity for public comment. Additionally, West Basin Municipal Water District will have its UWMP available on its website by May 27th. A public hearing on the West Basin UWMP will be held on June 10, 2021, at 10 AM, and we need your help to make sure West Basin does not use the UWMP to justify the building of an energy-intensive, climate- impacting, and expensive ocean desalination plant. There are plenty of ways to achieve sustainable water management and solve our reliance on imported water, and West Basin has a responsibility to find a better way to serve its communities’ water needs. Keep an eye out for a future Surge (our newsletter) and socials for a call to action on other UWMPs.
Now more than ever we need our water resources to hold up in the face of our changing climate, we need equitable drinking water rates to serve all Angelenos, and our city deserves a cleaner environment for all to enjoy.