Los Angeles and southern California infrastructure agencies are poised to set precedents in advancing water projects in one of the nation's largest and most drought-impacted metropolitan areas, with efforts underway that include an innovative ocean-based water desalination plant, officials told the ENR LA Infrastructure Forum on Nov. 18.

With the impending 2028 Olympic Games expected to also strain the region's transportation capabilities, officials are seeking to secure public funding and contractor support for the construction mission—including small and diverse firms and a skilled craft, technical and management workforce to execute it.

As recent election results signal the federal government will see a shift in policy and funding priorities, “We have many federal grants right now that we're working to protect, [by ensuring] that we have agreements finalized and money secured, and that we're able to follow through with those dollars to deliver on the many projects that we have,” LA County Supervisor Holly Mitchell told the conference, sponsored by ENR and regional agency group InfrastructureLA. “Every municipality is looking to the federal government for help with infrastructure, so I hope members of Congress understand that’s the expectation of their constituents. Infrastructure shouldn't be a partisan issue.”

Las Virgenes Municipal Water District in LA County is exploring use of an ocean-based desalination process as an alternative to a more energy-intensive land-based system to boost its water supply
Rendering courtesy OceanWell

Water Management Goes to the Source

Terming California “one of the country's most climate change impacted states,” Eric Tsai, State Dept. of Water Resources supervising engineer, told attendees that the state snow pack, “its largest natural reservoir, is melting faster and earlier than ever before.” He also noted the increased obsolescence of statewide water system infrastructure and the more frequent negative impacts on overburdened communities.

LA County Public Works Director Mark Pestrella updated the LA city and county combined effort to develop a new water distribution program to serve the region’s 200 water agencies, spread across a 4,000-sq-mile area with 89 municipalities. “The plan comes at a critical time, because we're having more frequent intense wildfires, extreme heat, prolonged drought and less reliable imported water from faraway places,” he said.

Another challenge for the water supply is sediment management, with buildup ”that is just choking regional groundwater basins that feed our water system,” Pestrella noted, adding that watersheds cannot “recover as quickly as they typically do.” The county is spending more than half a billion dollars to move 19 million cu yd of sediment from reservoirs that supply one-third of its drinking water supply, he said.

Also targeted for action is the rising number of failing county water supply systems, with 67 now at risk to reach that point, affecting an estimated 800,000 customers, many in underserved communities, Pestrella said. 

To reduce the number to zero, the county is launching a regional support program to provide financial, technical and managerial guidance, water quality monitoring and a public alert system. The plan is targeted to boost water supply by 600,000 acre-ft per year over the next two decades, including capture of 300,000 acre-ft annually of new stormwater supply. “That means a lot of construction coordinated among the agencies," Pestrella said. “Progress will be tracked on a dashboard, and we're developing two-year action plans to keep us accountable and on track.”

Despite having three major water aqueducts that have served Los Angeles for decades, a persistent drought in 2022 “really told us is that we needed to step up even more,” said Anselmo Collins, senior assistant water system general manager for the LA Dept. of Water and Power. That includes boosting seismic resilience, since all supply lines cross the San Andreas fault. “It's not a matter of if, It's a matter of when it's going to go,” he said.

The agency has also linked up with LA County Sanitation Districts to boost local water supply, with recent approval to start work on the $740-million, 25-million gallon-per-day wastewater effluent recycling and purification program at the Donald C. Tillman reclamation plant, which will support the San Fernando Valley and includes $400 million in public funding.

Farther off is a plan to recycle 210 million gallons per day over the next two decades at the giant Hyperion reclamation plant near LA International Airport for both indirect and direct potable reuse, based on treatment levels, said Collins. He called it “the game changer for us.”

As a smaller regional water user, David Pedersen, director of Las Virgenes Municipal Water District, said its supply dropped by 74% during the 2022 drought, with little local groundwater to tap. The district recently linked up with California-based desalination technology firm OceanWell to develop what would be the first offshore water production plant in the U.S., to be sited several miles off the coast in 1,400-ft-deep water. Consultant Stantec also is supporting the project.

The plant's reverse osmosis process is set to produce up to 10 million gallons of fresh water per day via pods located near the ocean floor, which would use water pressure at that depth as a power source to lower its energy use by as much as 40%, cut brine production and reduce salty byproducts that threaten marine life, company officials have told media.

The process borrows technology from the oil industry, Pedersen said, adding that OceanWell will start in January a pilot project at the district's 120-ft-deep Westlake Village reservoir. “We'll be doing a whole variety of tests, looking to the future,” he said. “The technology still needs more research.”

Who's Doing the Work?

Related to project contracting and project execution, Randall Winston, Los Angeles deputy mayor for infrastructure, noted collaboration between city and regional agencies to “peel back bureaucracy” in procurement through efforts such as contract “unbundling” and more small business certification “reciprocity” among regional agencies, municipalities and other infrastructure owners.

Noting about 1 million small and diverse businesses in the LA County Dept. of Economic Opportunity database, Director Kelly LoBianco said public sector procurement potential “can be opaque and out of reach for many with burdensome processes and requirements that make it easier for agencies but harder for the applicants.”

Joining other regional and state officials last year at the inaugural LA Infrastructure Forum to commit to boosting diversity contracting, LoBianco said the county has increased the number of certified businesses by more than 15% and “there’s a lot more we can do across myriad certifications in the region.” Another progress point is a new bonding program at no cost to companies, a partnership with Merriwether & Williams Insurance Services to “build capacity of our small businesses and nonprofits to contract with the county,” she added.

Emphasizing the need for added investment in “human infrastructure” development, LoBianco said the region's five million workers represent “a large, scalable talent pipeline.”

Noting more than 450,000 members statewide and support of more than 15 pre-apprentice programs, Jeremy Smith, state building trades council chief of staff and workforce development director, said “jobs need to be careers, and we need to hold on to these public investments so workers can journey through apprenticeship programs and become journey managers.”

LA County Economic Development Corp. CEO Stephen Cheung emphasized the need for infrastructure owners and contractors to tap economic research by the nonprofit entity, which focuses on business assistance, workforce development, engagement and international trade. “How do we capacitate small and medium-sized companies, especially diverse owned ones that have never been given an opportunity to be included in the supply chain?”

Salvatrice Cummo, economic and workforce development vice president at Pasadena City College, noted the state community college system's role in making sure next-generation workers are aligned with needs in competitive industry sectors, “whether they're young workers, displaced workers or just folks looking to upskill.” She said school research says LA County's population would drop to 9.5 million from 10.2 million by 2034.

Supporting the upcoming LA Olympic and Paralympic games and other big events will be a major labor draw, said Erikk Aldridge, vice president of engagement for its organizer, LA28. “In Paris, they mapped out 181,000 jobs related to the games. We will have the largest games in the history of the Olympics.”

LoBianco added that “with LA28 and these infrastructure dollars, it's a good, good time to get everything we ever wanted done in place by then.”