LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With the water-saving help of consumers in south Ventura and west Los Angeles counties, a regional water treatment plant was back on-line this afternoon after drought-related upgrades were completed nearly a day ahead of schedule.
Heading into the shutdown, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Calleguas Municipal Water District and Las Virgenes Municipal Water District called on consumers to reduce their water use—including refraining from outdoor watering—after Metropolitan’s Joseph Jensen Water Treatment Plant was taken out of service early Thursday morning.
“We greatly appreciate the support from residents and businesses throughout the affected areas whose conservation efforts were instrumental in maintaining adequate supplies for the area,” said Debra C. Man, Metropolitan assistant general manager and chief operating officer, after the Granada Hills plant was returned to service at 3 p.m.
“We’re extremely pleased the physical modifications to the district’s local distribution system were completed so supplies from the Colorado River can be delivered to the area as we enter the summer months,” Man said.
For decades, the affected areas have received imported water delivered exclusively from Northern California via the State Water Project and treated at the Jensen plant. With drought conditions severely limiting SWP supplies, the shutdown allowed Metropolitan to make the necessary upgrades to its distribution system to deliver Colorado River water supplies into areas of the Southland that do not typically receive them.
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is a cooperative of 26 cities and water agencies serving nearly 19 million people in six counties. The district imports water from the Colorado River and Northern California to supplement local supplies, and helps its members to develop increased water conservation, recycling, storage and other resource-management programs.
