Who We Are

Water System

LADWP works hard to ensure that Angelenos receive a safe and reliable water supply.

Learn More about L.A.’s Water Resources

LADWP’s Water System supports the vitality and sustainability of Los Angeles by providing our customers and the communities we serve with reliable, high quality and competitively priced water services in a safe and environmentally responsible manner. We are the nation’s second largest municipal water utility. In fiscal year 2021-22, we supplied approximately 163 billion gallons of water annually, and an average of 447 million gallons per day (GPD), to 739,354 water service connections. LADWP has a strong history of water resources management. As Los Angeles has grown from a population of 142,000 in 1902 to approximately 4 million residents today, we continue to make efficient water use a way of life, providing reliable, high quality resilient water supplies now and in the future. Our Water System is committed to implementing innovative water management, and is a leader both nationally and globally by focusing on three key areas: the safety of drinking water, reliability of water infrastructure, and developing sustainable local water supplies.

Water Quality

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At LADWP, we know how important water is to your daily life, the health and safety of your family and the overall viability of our city. We want you to know that Water Quality is our utmost priority and our mission is to deliver reliable, safe, high-quality water to you, our customer in an efficient and publicly responsible manner.

Water Quality Concerns?

For issues regarding your water quality feel free to, Contact Us or call us at (213) 367-3182.
 

Drinking Water Quality Report

This annual report summarizes our efforts to bring you the highest water quality possible. It contains information on sampling and testing, our water sources and how we meet stringent state and federal drinking water requirements.

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2023-24 Water Infrastructure Plan Cover

Water Infrastructure Reliability

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) maintains a vast Water System of over 7,300 miles of mainlines and trunk lines, along with related infrastructure and storage facilities that are critical to delivering high quality water to Los Angeles residents and businesses. LADWP is investing over $6 billion in capital improvements over the next several years. All major water infrastructure components are evaluated through the ongoing Asset Management (AM) Program to systematically manage assets to achieve the lowest cost of ownership, including capital, operations, and maintenance costs. The AM Program data and analysis is continuously being improved and refined. Read more about our efforts in the Water Infrastructure Plan (WIP).

Sources of Water Supply

The Los Angeles Aqueducts, local groundwater, and supplemental water purchased from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) are the primary sources of water supply for the City of Los Angeles (City). The water from the MWD is delivered through the Colorado River Aqueduct and the State Water Project’s California Aqueduct. These three sources have historically delivered an adequate and reliable supply to serve the City’s needs. Implementation of recycled water projects, including Operation NEXT, is progressing and is expected to fill a larger role in Los Angeles’ water supply portfolio. Stormwater capture projects for groundwater recharge to improve groundwater reliability are also being developed. Despite the declining water supply due to environmental enhancements and impacts from climate change, the LADWP remains committed to creating sustainable sources of water to meet the future needs of Los Angeles. 

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3D map of California showing water sources from Mt. Shasta, Lake Oroville, the State Water Project, the LA Aqueduct, the Colorado River Aqueduct, Stormwater Capture and recycling.

Urban Water Management Plan

The LADWP Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) serves as the Water System’s primary resource planning document for achieving compliance with the requirements of California’s Urban Water Management Planning Act. The UWMP serves as the master plan for water supply and resources management consistent with the City of Los Angeles' goals and policy objectives.

Building Local Water Supplies

LADWP is committed to providing a reliable, resilient and sustainable water supply for Los Angeles. Through local water initiatives like Operation NEXT, recycled water, stormwater capture, groundwater remediation and water conservation, LADWP is reducing dependence on imported purchased water and ensuring that our future water supply is strong for generations to come.

Water Conservation

When it comes to saving water, LADWP customers are heroes. Angelenos have long embraced water-saving ethics, and water conservation is at the core of multiple strategies to ensure a sustainable water supply. Water use has dropped by over 30% in the past 15 years as our customers have diligently maintained their water-efficient habits.

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Recycled Water

Operation NEXT

Operation NEXT is an innovative water supply initiative being developed by LADWP in partnership with LA Sanitation and Environment (LASAN) that aims to improve the overall water supply resiliency and reliability for Los Angeles. The goal of Operation NEXT is to maximize purified recycled water from the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant in Playa del Rey, using advanced treatment processes, to create a new sustainable water resource that will diversify the supply for L.A. and the region.

Recycled Water for Residents 

To help save drinking water, LADWP reopened three recycled water fill stations where customers could fill up to 300 gallons of recycled water for irrigation during every visit. From late July through December 2022, the stations garnered over 1,000 visits from customers who filled jugs and buckets with more than 141,000 gallons of recycled water. The program offset precious drinking water and helped make recycled water more accessible to customers. 

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Stormwater Capture

 Expanding our capacity for capturing stormwater runoff is a key strategy to ensure our city remains water strong. Capturing and managing stormwater is a reliable and sustainable way to replenish local groundwater aquifers while reducing urban flooding. Stormwater capture also improves the quality of water that flows downstream to rivers, lakes, and the ocean. With over 70 new projects forecasted over the next 15 years, LADWP and its partners, such as the Los Angeles Department of Public Works and Los Angeles County Flood Control District (LACFCD), will double the city’s stormwater capture capacity. Many of these projects will happen at our neighborhood parks, and LADWP will be upgrading park amenities along the way. Our stormwater capture goal is to reach 48.9 billion gallons (150,000 acre-feet) of annual stormwater capture capacity by 2035. For reference, an acre-foot of water is roughly equivalent to one foot of water covering a football field.

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Groundwater Cleanup

The San Fernando Groundwater Basin (SFB) is a critical local water resource but has been limited due to historical contamination affecting nearly 50% of LADWP’s groundwater wells. LADWP continues expanding remediation systems to remove contamination from the SFB. During dry periods, when purchased imported water is less available, the SFB has provided an average of 12% of our water supply, and up to 23% during extended dry periods. Resolving contamination problems and restoring the beneficial use of the SFB are essential to protecting public health and the environment, and to recovering LADWP’s historical groundwater supply as a valuable local water resource. Based on an extensive groundwater remedial investigation and improvement study, LADWP has installed 26 monitoring wells. These new wells, along with a network of 70 existing wells, provide data to evaluate groundwater quality in the northern portion of the SFB, which includes the city’s most productive wellfields. LADWP’s current groundwater remediation efforts are focused on three major response actions: The North Hollywood West, North Hollywood Central, and Tujunga Wellfields. Additional groundwater evaluations in the Southern San Fernando Basin Wellfields are also underway.

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Learn more about Local Groundwater

 

Eastern Sierra

One critical resource is the Los Angeles Aqueduct, which runs 233 miles north of Los Angeles carrying fresh runoff from the Eastern Sierra to L.A. Completed in 1913, the L.A. Aqueduct was the largest water infrastructure project in the world at the time. Now, more than a century later, the L.A. Aqueduct is still a foundational purveyor of water for Los Angeles. Today, LADWP maintains stewardship of nearly 315,000 acres of land throughout Inyo and Mono counties. 

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Water Rates

LADWP has an increasing block rate structure with four tiers for residential customers and two tiers for all other customer classes. As of April 15, 2016, this new rate structure went into effect for all LADWP customers. Find out which rates apply to you.

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Water Programs