Los Angeles Basin Stormwater Conservation Study: Task 2 Water Supply & Water Demand Projections

The Los Angeles County Flood Control District (LACFCD) partnered with the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) to collaborate on the Los Angeles Basin Stormwater Conservation Study (LA Basin Study). The purpose of the LA Basin Study is to study long-term water conservation and flood control impacts from projected climate conditions and population changes in the Los Angeles Basin. The LA Basin Study will recommend potential changes to the operation of stormwater capture systems, modifications to existing facilities, and development of new facilities that could help resolve future water supply and flood control issues. The recommendations will be developed through identifying alternatives and conducting trade-off analyses.

For Task 2 of the LA Basin Study, Water Supply and Water Demand Projections, existing and projected water supplies and demands were characterized for the LA Basin Study Area (Study Area) out to 2095, with consideration of projected climate change effects. It is important to note that this Task 2 report inventories projected available supplies (i.e., potential supplies), and does not make assumptions for the volume of each supply source that will actually be used to meet projected demands, nor the facilities necessary to access and serve those supplies. This determination would require more in-depth integrated supply and demand planning to predict and analyze the multitude of factors that influence water supply and use decisions such as policy, cost, environmental factors, reliability, etc. This Task 2 report is intended to provide a supply and demand basis for understanding the potential need and benefit of additional stormwater capture systems that could be implemented across the region by the LACFCD and its partners. Given that stormwater is a local and relatively inexpensive source of supply, it must be a critical and substantial part of the LA Basin water supply portfolio that could help meet demands through 2095 and beyond.