Southern Californian Cities Focus On Water Conservation and Recycling to Reduce Imported Water

Photo by Susan Embree-Davis

California is the most populated state with nearly 38 million people, about double the population of the late 60's. As the population grew, so did the need for more water and we started importing water from far away sources to supplement our local supply. Not only has this taken a toll on the ecosystems of these sources, like the Colorado River, it has become more and more expensive and, with the demand still growing, some local cities are looking to sustainable long term solutions, like water conservation and recycling, to reduce dependence on water importing.

According to a National Geographic News Watch article 'California Cities to Reduce Water Imports From the Colorado River and Bay-Delta' written by Sandra Postel, "Five southern California cities that today rely heavily on water transferred hundreds of miles from the Colorado River and the San Francisco Bay-Delta are reversing this trend: they aim to cut their dependence on long-distance water imports by ramping up conservation, recycling and reliance on local supplies.

Collectively, water agencies serving Santa Monica, Camarillo, Ventura County, Long Beach and Los Angeles plan to cut their water imports by more than 40 billion gallons a year, enough to meet the annual household demands of 1.1 million people, according to a recent analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)."

Each city has different reduction ratio goal, with Santa Monica aiming highest at lowering dependence from 84% down to 0% by 2020; they are all looking primarily to conservation and recycling water as well as using local ground and run-off water for non-drinking uses, like land irrigation, to achieve this goal. "The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), which serves 3.9 million residents in the greater L.A. area, plans to diversify its water supply portfolio as it cuts its dependence on imported Colorado River and Bay-Delta water by 35 percent. The LADWP will boost investments in conservation, recycling, stormwater capture and water transfers to make up the difference."

It's about time our cities reduce dependence on imported water and makes the most sense for long term sustainability. At Pacific Vista Landscape Services, we know that everything we can do to help our customers save water while still enjoying a beautiful garden in our desert climate is key. Designing and installing the most advanced irrigation technologies and systems available in conjunction with landscape design, we have saved our clients thousands of dollars while conserving our most precious resource, water!