A New 25-Year Plan for Los Angeles' Water Supply

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) board recently approved a new Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP), which plots the utilities water supply plans for the next 25 years. According to an article by Emily Guerin, the new UWMP also marks a drastic change from past iterations of similar plans.

According to Guerin, on of the most important components of the WUMP is a section showing "how much water DWP can access over 25 years under different rainfall scenarios." According to the infographics included in the article, the utility uses less local water during drought years, and on average, DWP imports 87 percent of the water used in the city. The UWP, however, follows a goal set by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to reduce that average to 50 percent by the year 2035.

The article includes an in-depth discussion, with perspectives from both sides of the issue, about whether that goal is attainable. The question of whether Los Angeles has enough water to sustain a growing population over the next 25 years, as it turns out, is very much debatable.