Opinion

Guest Essay

June 2023

By: Department of Public and Government Affairs, Eastern Municipal Water District

Perris, CA — As California continues to fluctuate between its ever-increasing cycles of drought and flooding, there has never been a more important time for local water agencies to invest in projects and programs that prepare their region for the new challenges facing our water supplies.

Perris-based Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD) has done just that.

EMWD is California’s sixth-largest retail water agency, serving nearly one million customers throughout a 558-square mile service area that stretches from Moreno Valley to Temecula, and from the Perris Valley to the San Jacinto Valley. But despite the size of its service area, the biggest challenge in meeting customer needs is to prepare for the future. EMWD’s service area is just 38 percent developed based on General Plans by local land use agencies, meaning that it must find ways to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population at a time when water scarcity is an ever-increasing challenge.

By investing in a diverse and resilient water supply portfolio and pairing it with customer-focused programs that promote efficient use and the right water source, EMWD is ahead of the curve in preparing for a future that will have a different water supply roadmap than that of a generation ago.

“We cannot sit idle and think that what worked a decade ago will work now or in the future,” EMWD Board President Phil Paule said. “To continue to balance the needs of economic development and water supply uncertainty, we have had to think outside of the proverbial box. By doing so, we are well-prepared for those challenges that are ahead of us.”

EMWD receives its water from a variety of supply sources, including water imported from the State Water Project and Colorado River Aqueduct system. In recent years, both those systems faced historic droughts that have significantly reduced water supply availability. As a result, EMWD leaned into its local water supply sources, which include groundwater, groundwater desalination and recycled water – the last of which makes up more than one-third of its water supply portfolio.

Among the efforts that EMWD has advanced to develop a culture of local resource management and water use efficiency are:

• EMWD’s award-winning Landscapes for Living program offers a wide range of resources and rebate opportunities for customers to reduce their outdoor irrigation, where more than 60 percent of water in EMWD’s service area is used. This includes everything from free weather-based irrigation controllers to sample landscape plans that can be customized by homeowners to transform their landscapes into more efficient spaces.

• EMWD’s Recycled Water Accelerated Retrofit Program has been nationally-recognized for its innovative approach toward expanding the use of recycled water. Program participants have often cited funding and technical expertise as challenges toward retrofitting existing landscape systems to recycled water. To solve this, EMWD takes the lead on design, permitting and provides a funding mechanism to the user that offers immediate cost savings compared to potable water and pays off the project cost over 10 years. More than 50 sites have participated in the program to offset potable water demands with recycled water.

• As climate change has led to longer dry periods followed by shorter periods of intense rainfall (hello, atmospheric rivers!) EMWD knew it needed facilities that could receive large amounts of water in short periods of time to replenish its local aquifer. EMWD’s Mountain Avenue West Groundwater Replenishment Facility, completed in 2021, does just that. The Water Banking facility can recharge approximately 30,000 acre feet of water into the groundwater basin annually and has a percolation rate of more than five feet per day. This allows EMWD to receive water from the State Water Project during wet and normal years and save it underground to use during prolonged droughts.

• In the coming years, EMWD will break ground on its Purified Water Replenishment Facility, which will advance clean recycled water into a purified water source. It will be blended with additional tertiary recycled water, and State Water Project water, and percolated into the local groundwater basin. This will allow EMWD to continue using 100 percent of its recycled water supplies for beneficial reuse and provide long-term quality and quantity improvements to the groundwater basin yield.

As growth, customer habits and a changing climate present constantly evolving challenges for water supply reliability, EMWD is confident that these programs and projects will ensure its region is among the most well-prepared in the state for future droughts – all while providing the reliability needed to support the planned economic development throughout its service area.

“We are proud to be investing in the future so that we are ready to meet the needs of our current and future customers,” Paule said. “We are no longer in a situation where we can hope that one good winter full of storms will solve our problems. By proactively preparing in a diverse and strategic set of programs and projects, we will be ready in both wet years and dry years to provide the level of service our customers expect from us.”

Eastern Municipal Water District is the water, wastewater service and recycled water provider to nearly one million people living and working within a 558-square mile service area in western Riverside County. It is California’s sixth-largest retail water agency, and its mission is “To deliver value to our diverse customers and the communities we serve by providing safe, reliable, economical and environmentally sustainable water, wastewater and recycled water services.” More information can be found at www.emwd.org.

EMWD News and Information

Public and Governmental Affairs Department

PublicandGovtAffairs@emwd.org

951.928.3777, ext. 4219