Officials from Los Angeles and Ventura counties celebrated today the start of construction of a $280 million project to bring additional sources of water to Southern California communities hit particularly hard by the state’s last drought.
The Sepulveda Feeder Pump Stations Project will allow Metropolitan to reverse flows in its system if needed during severe California droughts, pushing water from the Colorado River and Diamond Valley Lake into communities that currently have limited access to these resources. These areas normally rely almost exclusively on water from the northern Sierra, delivered through the State Water Project.
During the 2020-2022 drought, when California saw its three driest years on record and State Water Project deliveries were severely curtailed, these communities in Ventura County and Los Angeles County did not have sufficient water to meet normal demands. As a result, residents and businesses were required to dramatically reduce their water use.
“Metropolitan had never before imposed such strong reductions in water use on a portion of our service area. It was an unprecedented situation sparked by the hotter temperatures and more extreme droughts we are facing as the climate changes,” Metropolitan General Manager Shivaji Deshmukh said. “When we saw the impacts of this historic drought on some portions of our service area, we committed to taking action to avoid this ever happening again.”
The Sepulveda Feeder Pump Stations Project helps fulfill that commitment. It consists of building two new pump stations that, when needed, can push Colorado River water and water stored in DVL, Southern California’s largest reservoir, into northern Los Angeles and southern Ventura counties, reversing normal flows in the existing Sepulveda Feeder pipeline.
When this project is complete, expected in early 2029, Metropolitan will be able to deliver up to 22,000 acre-feet of additional water annually to the State Water Project-dependent area during severe droughts (an acre-foot is approximately 326,000 gallons, enough to serve roughly three Southern California families for a year). The pump stations are being constructed in a manner that will allow them to be readily expanded in the future depending on water supply conditions and future board approvals.
“Under normal circumstances, our system largely relies on gravity to deliver water. But we learned during the last drought that left some communities without access to available water. Now, we will have the ability to pump more water uphill when needed,” Deshmukh said. “Simply put, this project strengthens our ability to move water where it’s needed during droughts, during emergencies, and when major infrastructure must be taken out of service for maintenance or rehabilitation.”
The Sepulveda Feeder Pump Stations project is being expedited through the use of the progressive design-build method for construction, which allows Metropolitan to use a single firm for both design and construction. It allows designers, builders and owners to work collaboratively from the very beginning and creates opportunities to deliver projects more effectively and efficiently. This is Metropolitan’s first project using the progressive design-build method since the state legislature granted the agency the authority to use such alternative methods to expedite completion of construction projects.
Metropolitan is also in the process of building four projects that together will allow additional water from Diamond Valley Lake and the Colorado River to be delivered to communities in the Inland Empire and San Gabriel Valley that are also currently dependent on the State Water Project and were under mandatory restrictions during the last drought. That series of projects is expected to be completed in 2027.
“When all of these projects are completed, they will deliver water, and, importantly, they will deliver reliability and equity,” Metropolitan board Vice Chair Nancy Sutley said. “They are a key part of Metropolitan’s climate adaptation strategy and are investments in flexibility and preparedness so that our communities are better positioned when the next drought inevitably hits.”
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