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The economic value of local water supplies in Los Angeles

Nature Sustainability volume 1, pages 289–297 (2018)Cite this article

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Abstract

Los Angeles imports water over long distances to supplement local supplies. Reduced reliability of the available imports is driving many local agencies to promote conservation and enhance local water sources. These include stormwater capture, water reuse and groundwater. But financial considerations are often a significant impediment to project development, especially when comparing new and existing sources. Here we demonstrate a comprehensive approach for evaluating the economic implications of shifting to local water reliance in Los Angeles County. We show that local water supplies are economically competitive. Results from integrated hydroeconomic modelling of urban water in Los Angeles identify cost-effective water supply portfolios and conservation targets. Considering costs across the ‘full-cycles’ of urban water supply that span agency boundaries yields better comparisons of planning alternatives. Throughout the region, many water retailers could successfully mitigate effects of imported water cuts while still supporting drought-tolerant landscapes, but some would suffer due to over-reliance on imports. Updating economic assessment methods would support needed innovations to achieve local reliance in Los Angeles, including infrastructure investments, institutional reforms, many more drought-tolerant landscapes and reallocated groundwater rights.

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Fig. 1: Hierarchy of water systems and supplies in Los Angeles.
Fig. 2

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation, the National Science Foundation’s Water, Sustainability, and Climate program (NSF WSC #1204235), and the Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation. M. Glickfeld, K. Naik, D. Cheng, P. Cleland and J. Rodriguez all contributed to supporting research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Office of Water Programs, California State University, Sacramento, Sacramento, CA, USA

    Erik Porse

  2. Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Erik Porse, Kathryn B. Mika & Stephanie Pincetl

  3. Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    Elizaveta Litvak & Diane E. Pataki

  4. Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, USA

    Kimberly F. Manago & Terri S. Hogue

  5. Institute of the Environment and Sustainability and Sustainable LA Grand Challenge, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Mark Gold

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Contributions

E.P. and S.P. conceived of the study. E.P. and K.B.M. collected data, performed modelling and analysed results. E.L. performed field experiments and estimated tree canopy water needs. S.P., T.H., D.P. and M.G. were primary investigators of research projects that funded this work. All authors were involved in writing and editing.

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Correspondence to Erik Porse.

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Supplementary Information, Supplementary Figs 1–6, Supplementary Tables 1–5, Supplementary References

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Porse, E., Mika, K.B., Litvak, E. et al. The economic value of local water supplies in Los Angeles. Nat Sustain 1, 289–297 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-018-0068-2

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