Dozens of labor, tribal, conservation, and environmental justice groups urge Metropolitan Water District to prioritize funding for massive wastewater recycling project
MWD will finalize 2026-28 biennial budget in April; groups urge $150M allocation to support investment in resilient local water supplies
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 11, 2026
Los Angeles – Nearly fifty organizations and five water-oriented coalitions submitted a joint letter to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California in advance of today’s Finance, Affordability, Asset Management, and Efficiency Committee meeting, where Metropolitan’s biennial budget will be discussed. The letter signals support for including $150M for planning and design for Pure Water Southern California (PWSC) in MWD’s 2026-2028 biennial budget.
PWSC is an ambitious regional wastewater recycling project that would produce up to 150 million gallons of purified water daily once it reaches full production capacity. In addition to creating a new source of local, reliable water, the project would reduce nutrient loads released into the ocean, which would benefit marine life. It would also create 75,000 local job-years to support project construction and operations and maintenance.
“Pure Water Southern California is the smartest and most reliable investment Metropolitan’s leaders could make for our region’s water future,” said Bruce Reznik, executive director of Los Angeles Waterkeeper. “We will always have wastewater available for purification and reuse. The same cannot be said for water we might be able to get from the Colorado River, the Bay-Delta, or the potential Sites Reservoir a decade or two from now. Hands down, these are the best dollars Metropolitan could spend when looking for options to insulate us from the deluge-to-drought extremes that continue to plague our region.”
A copy of the letter is available here. To speak with Bruce Reznik and learn more about the benefits of Pure Water Southern California, contact Nina Erlich-Williams at nina@publicgoodpr.com.
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