Delivering Safe, Reliable, High-Quality Water to Santa Monica

August 22, 2019 9:00 AM
by Sunny Wang

We expect clean, safe water to flow from our taps, but how much time do we take to stop and think about the journey our water makes? Water is a critical resource that none of us can live without, which is why Santa Monica’s Public Works Department works around the clock to ensure residents and businesses continue to receive safe, reliable, and high-quality water. In order to effectively do this, we have to continue to invest in our water and wastewater system.

Santa Monica’s Public Works Department has set out on a five-year water and wastewater rate study to evaluate the cost alternatives to ensure Santa Monica has a well-maintained water system, keep water bills low over time, and confirm we can achieve our 2023 water self-sufficiency goal established by Council.

Santa Monica residents, businesses, and staff have been working hard to achieve these objectives through effective water conservation efforts. The droplets below show how from 2011 to 2017, Santa Monicans have increased conservation by 18 percent. Thank you, community! 

 

Santa Monica’s current water supply comes from a couple of different sources:

• Local groundwater is pumped and treated at the City's Arcadia Water Treatment Plant. With investment, we can more effectively use groundwater in a sustainable way.
• Imported water from Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is purchased to supplement local water supplies. Imported water is increasingly costlier than using local supplies.
• Water saved through conservation efforts by our community significantly reducing water use.
• Alternative water supply from the Clean Beaches tank that captures dry weather runoff and stormwater and is treated at the Santa Monica Urban Runoff Recycling Facility (SMURRF) to provide recycled water for toilet flushing and irrigation. This water supply reduces ocean pollution and is sustainable and drought resilient.

While Santa Monica has done an amazing job conserving water and decreasing our reliance on imported water, we need to continue to invest in the City’s water system to ensure water delivery, prevent infrastructure failures and achieve water self-sufficiency. For Santa Monica to achieve water self-sufficiency, we need to locally source 99% of all our water. This not only diversifies and protects Santa Monica against the risk of service interruptions in the event of an earthquake or other disaster, but it allows us to have more control over the cost of water.

Santa Monica’s future water supply will come from a couple of different sources:

• Alternative Water Supplies will be expanded to increase sustainability and drought resiliency. A new Stormwater Harvest Tank will increase stormwater capture for treatment and use, while further reducing polluted runoff released into the ocean. A new Advanced Water Treatment Facility and upgrades at the Santa Monica Urban Runoff Recycling Facility will increase recycled water production and provide water for groundwater replenishment.
• Conservation will continue to play a critical role in reducing water demand and saving water for the future.
• Local Groundwater will be leveraged more effectively through new technologies to restore the Olympic Well Field, water production efficiency enhancement at Arcadia Water Treatment Plant, and a new well to increase local water supply resiliency.
• Imported Water will be maintained as an emergency water supply.

The primary way we are investing in our future water system is through the alternatives recommended in a five-year rate study.  This fall, Public Work’s staff will be distributing public notices to all water and wastewater customers as part of the Proposition 218 requirements. Please keep an eye out for these notices in your mailbox! The city will also host a public meeting about the rate study and meet with neighborhood associations, civic/business groups, non-governmental organizations, and special advisory committees to present rate study information, answer your questions and gather your input on the water and wastewater rate alternatives.  

The next time you turn on the tap or flush your toilet, you’ll know what it takes to deliver safe, reliable, and sustainable water. Thank you for being a part of Santa Monica’s sustainable community!

  

**This article is an introduction to Santa Monica’s water system and the water and wastewater rate study. We will be publishing another article in the coming months diving deeper into the rate study alternatives as more information becomes available.

 

Authored By

Sunny Wang
Water Resources Manager