Water Replenishment District of Southern California to build $110m water treatment plant

The Water Replenishment District of Southern California (WRD) has signed an agreement with J.F. Shea Construction for the construction of a $110m water treatment plant.

This plant will enable WRD to develop sustainable groundwater basins in California.

WRD board of directors president Willard H. Murray, Jr said: "This is an exciting day. The Los Angeles region has a long and sometimes colorful history of importing water to quench our thirst.

"With this project WRD will be turning a corner in our water history. WRD’s future will be built on water recycling, drought-proofing our water supplies and ending our reliance on imported water. All these new developments will be great for rate-payers and for the environment."

Once the the Groundwater Reliability Improvement Project (GRIP) / Advanced Water Treatment Facility (AWTF) is completed in 2018, WRD’s two groundwater basins – the Central and West Coast Basins – will be replenished with captured stormwater and recycled water.

Much of the water will be purified by the GRIP facility for safe and dependable groundwater replenishment.

GRIP will replace the requirement for 21,000 acre ft of water imported from Northern California and from the Colorado River to maintain water levels in the groundwater basins.

WRD groundwater supplies are the source of 50% of the water used by 4 million residents of south Los Angeles County who live in 43 cities.

Construction of the GRIP/AWTF facility is scheduled to begin this coming fall. The facility is expected to be operational by 2018.