purified

Los Angeles will soon begin building a $740-million project to transform wastewater into purified drinking water in the San Fernando Valley, expanding the city’s local water supply in an effort to prepare for worsening droughts compounded by climate change.

With the new facility, which is scheduled to be finished in 2027, the city will for the first time start using purified recycled water as part of the drinking water supply.

The water recycling project was designed so that even as purified water is piped away, a stream of treated wastewater will still flow to sustain the L.A.

City leaders are investing in the facility while also planning a much larger effort to turn sewage into purified drinking water.

While much of the purified water is slated to be used to replenish groundwater basins, DWP also plans to consider incorporating “direct potable reuse,” which involves delivering purified water directly to customers or mixing it with other supplies.