On Tuesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom visited the Regional Recycled Water Advanced Purification Center, a joint partnership between Metropolitan and the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, in Carson. With the megadrought affecting the western United States, Gov. Newsom visited the demonstration facility which, when built at full-scale will produce 150 million gallons of water daily, enough to serve more than 500,000 homes – making it one of the largest such facilities in the world.
In a press conference following the tour, Gov. Newsom called on local water agencies and Californians to step up and take action to conserve water. “California will need to use every tool in its toolbox to safeguard our communities, businesses and ecosystems from the severe, climate-driven drought being felt throughout the West,” he said. “The state is taking urgent action to tackle drought impacts, drive water savings, and empower local water agencies to step up conservation measures across the state. All of us must take aggressive action to meet these challenges head-on while we work to build a climate-resilient water system.”
Metropolitan's Executive Officer Deven Upadhyay joined the governor at the press conference at the facility, which completed its
first phase of testing in late 2021. "Our recent response of urgently reducing demands through restrictions will get us through the immediate crisis. But it isn’t a long-term solution. The real, sustainable solution lies in large-scale investments in local water supplies, storage and water-efficiency. Investments like our Regional Recycled Water Program."
