Long Beach Promotes Water Conservation and Stewardship

The Long Beach Water Department, LWWD, has taken several steps to promote conservation and hopes these changes will ensure that its citizens will have clean drinking water well into the future. Approximately half of the potable water in Long Beach comes from existing local groundwater supplies; the other half is purchased from the Metropolitan Water District, which gets its water from the Colorado River and Northern California’s Bay Delta region.

Conservation Steps

Water is life’s most basic need and recent shortages and the prediction of more in the future have demonstrated the unreliability of our most precious resource. As water supplies dwindle, cities and citizens must continually find innovative ways to be more efficient water consumers. Among the steps the City of Long Beach has taken includes the implementation of the Extraordinary Water Conservation plan. This award-winning plan includes elements of consumer education, distribution of water saving devices, consumer rebates, and the adoption of water prohibitions. Since September 2007 the program has enabled the city to reduce its water use, by 8% from the 10-year-average. This 8% savings equals to approximately 1.8 billion gallons of water saved annually.

Recycling

 Most of this water is not used for drinking, but outdoors for landscaping, washing cars, and other activities.

As our population continues to grow, finding new and inventive ways to expand our water supply in addition to conservation is important to ensuring long-term water supply reliability. The city of Long Beach uses recycled water extensively for industrial purposes and to irrigate city parks, golf course, cemeteries and athletic fields, replacing millions of gallons of imported potable water that would otherwise be used. Long Beach has also introduced a comprehensive expansion to its water-recycling program. The expansion involves the construction of 16 miles of pipeline, new pump stations, upgrades to water system storage, and the completion of new service connections. Once completed, this project will likely double the recycled water use in Long Beach and eventually will meet 12 percent of the city’s total water demand.

Desalination

Long Beach has also invented its own, patented seawater desalination process, known as the Long Beach Method. This process is 20-30% more energy efficient than traditional desalination processes, making the process less expensive and more environmentally friendly. Although seawater desalination will not immediately alleviate current water shortages in Long Beach, the city is continuing to research and improve the technology as part of the long-term solution.

Changing Habits

The average resident in 
Long Beach uses 114 gallons 
of drinking water per day.

The city has set a residential target use of 100 gallons per day, which would set the standard for water conservation in Southern California. Residents can help meet this goal by making small changes like turning off the faucet while brushing your teeth, and by making larger changes like installing water efficient appliances. Together these small changes can add up to substantial differences and can ensure our most precious resource on Earth will be around for generations to come. Click here to learn more ways to save water at home.

Source: Long Beach Water Department