Los Angeles Unveils Stormwater Capture Master Plan

Efforts to secure a sustainable water supply include new and enhanced facilities designed to divert runoff into groundwater basins

Jul 02, 2015 | by Sarah Hirsch |

Los Angeles Stormwater Spreading Ground — The Santa Fe Spreading Grounds, located off the San Gabriel River, is one of 26 such facilities operated by the Los Angeles County Flood Control District for groundwater recharge. During an average year of rainfall, the District returns close to 85 billion gallons of stormwater, recycled water and imported water to groundwater basins — enough to supply two million County residents for a year. Nearly 71 billion gallons (220,000 acre-feet) of that total is stormwater.

Driven by years of drought and new, unprecedented restrictions on water use, Los Angeles is taking an innovative approach to reduce future reliance on imported water, in addition to taking preventive measures for a predicted weather trend of heavier, more intense precipitation.At a public hearing June 25, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power presented its Stormwater Capture Master Plan, which includes multiple projects to be implemented throughout the city.Instead of allowing up to 10 billion gallons of water from a single storm from simply surging into the Pacific Ocean, the plan includes three large-scale projects in the San

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