Climate Action: Mayor Bass, City Leaders Open New Groundwater Treatment Facilities to Restore Up to 43 Million Gallons of Contaminated Groundwater Daily into Safe Drinking Water

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LOS ANGELES - Mayor Karen Bass today joined Councilmember Adrin Nazarian, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) officials, state and federal regulators, and community leaders to celebrate the completion of the North Hollywood Central and North Hollywood West Groundwater Treatment Facilities. The completion of these facilities represents a major milestone in remediating the San Fernando Basin and strengthening Los Angeles' climate resilience. Photos and b-roll available here. These facilities directly advance Mayor Bass' Climate Action Plan, which sets ambitious targets for climate resilience and water sustainability, including reaching a 70% local water supply by 2035.

"Today is about bold climate action. It's about delivering results. It's about meeting the moment to protect our city, our people, and our planet," said Mayor Bass. "While the impact of the climate crisis is local, so too are the solutions. These state-of-the-art facilities will help restore up to 43 millions gallons of contaminated groundwater daily to supply hundreds of thousands of homes with reliable drinking water - all while reducing our dependence on imported water and launching us forward to meet our bold climate goals."

"Right now we're importing more than 70 percent of our water," said Councilmember Adrin Nazarian, Chair of the Council's Energy and Environment Committee. "We're going to turn that around and produce 70% of our water locally. The three groundwater treatment facilities we're opening in my district will replenish our groundwater and help us meet that goal, because nothing is more important than knowing that clean, affordable water will be there when you turn on the tap."

The facilities are part of LADWP's San Fernando Valley Groundwater Remediation Program, one of the City's largest investments in local water infrastructure. The program includes three treatment facilities: North Hollywood Central, North Hollywood West, and Tujunga, which will be completed by 2027. Collectively, these facilities will have the capacity to extract and treat roughly 92 million gallons of water per day, enough to supply up to 400,000 L.A. homes a year. The North Hollywood Central and North Hollywood West facilities alone can treat up to 43 million gallons of groundwater each day.

"These facilities mark a major milestone in our commitment to clean up long standing groundwater contamination and bring this aquifer back to full health," said David W. Hanson, Interim LADWP General Manager. "By remediating the plumes and restoring beneficial uses of the San Fernando Basin, we are protecting a vital local water resource that Los Angeles depends on - and ensuring it can serve our city for generations to come."

"On behalf of the Regional Water Board, I would like to congratulate LADWP and the other active agencies for all of the arduous effort and close collaboration involved in bringing this momentous day to fruition," said David Nahai, Chairman, Los Angeles Regional Water Board. "The Regional Water Board is committed to supporting projects, such as these treatment facilities, that will help secure our water future."

"I congratulate LADWP and the City of Los Angeles on the extraordinary achievement of completing these facilities, which unlock a new local source of drinking water for millions of Angelenos," said State Water Board Chair Joaquin Esquivel. "As climate change makes imported water less reliable and more expensive, projects like these are essential to putting contaminated groundwater back to use. They are also capital-intensive, which is why the state funded a significant portion of the cost through Prop 1 grants, helping keep rates affordable for ratepayers while the City builds a more resilient local supply."

"The San Fernando Valley-North Hollywood Central and North Hollywood West groundwater remediation facilities are a critical part of the City of Los Angeles' efforts to be water secure and climate resilient," said Bruce Reznik, Executive Director, Los Angeles Waterkeeper. "The City still imports nearly 90% of its water from outside the region from sources that are becoming increasingly unreliable in face of climate change, leaving nearly 4 million Angelenos and our local economy at grave risk. Cleaning up our groundwater basins - which were contaminated by decades of industrial and aerospace pollution - is a critical component of fostering more reliable and sustainable local supplies, along with conservation, stormwater capture and wastewater purification. I was lucky enough to be at the 2018 groundbreaking for these projects with Mayor Garcetti and a host of City and environmental leaders, and am thrilled to now see these projects come online under Mayor Bass."

The San Fernando Groundwater Basin is one of Los Angeles' most important local water resources, supplying drinking water to communities across the city. Decades of industrial pollution contaminated portions of the basin, limiting the City's ability to fully utilize this resource. Large portions of the basin were later designated a federal high priority cleanup site.

Using advanced treatment technology, the new facilities will pump, treat, and remove contaminants from groundwater to meet drinking water standards. The treated water will then enter LADWP's water distribution system. By remediating the basin and restoring access to this local water resource, the projects help diversify the city's water portfolio and reduce reliance on increasingly uncertain imported water supplies as California faces more frequent droughts and the growing impacts of climate change.

LADWP received approximately $308 million in Proposition 1 grant funding administered by the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB), significantly reducing the financial burden on ratepayers while advancing critical groundwater remediation efforts. This state investment includes $122 million for the North Hollywood Central facility, $46 million for the North Hollywood West facility, and $139 million for the Tujunga facility.

LADWP's groundwater remediation projects also reflect a strong investment in local workers through a Project Labor Agreement with the building and construction trades union. The Department surpassed workforce goals, with minority workers performing 77% of construction hours, local residents 37%, local apprentices 51%, and transitional workers 11%.

Under Mayor Bass' leadership, Los Angeles has achieved historic clean energy milestones - from the full divestment from coal in our power supply to the completion of the Eland Solar-plus-Storage Center, one of the largest solar and battery storage projects in the country, and the doubling of fast chargers for electric vehicles.