Photo courtesy of Jacobs Inc., with City of Los Angeles

Rendering of the Advanced Water Purification Facility that is part of the Donald C. Tillman Groundwater Replenishment Project to produce drinking water from recycled water.

The city of Los Angeles will break ground in December on a $740-million project that will turn wastewater into purified drinking water for the San Fernando Valley, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The project, slated for 2027 completion, will expand the local water supply in preparation for deepening droughts tied to climate change. The project is designed to reduce the city's reliance "on imported water that must travel hundreds of miles and is vulnerable to drought, earthquakes, climate change and other natural disasters," the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP) wrote.

"This is a big day for us and for the city of Los Angeles," LADWP CEO and Chief Engineer Janisse Quiñones said. "We're committed to being a national and global leader in innovative water management by focusing on three key areas: the safety of drinking water, reliability of water infrastructure, and developing sustainable local water supplies. This Groundwater Replenishment Project reflects our commitment to these objectives."

Photo courtesy of Jacobs Inc., with City of Los Angeles

Jacobs Inc. is the main contractor and design builder, supported by Carollo Engineers of Walnut Creek, Calif.; Trussel Technologies Inc. of Pasadena, Calif.; and Hazen and Sawyer of Los Angeles.

The new facilities will be at the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant in Van Nuys. Aside from an advanced water purification facility, electrical, maintenance and warehouse facilities will be built as well,

The Times reported that upon completion, the facilities will provide 20 million gallons of drinking water daily. That's enough to supply about 250,000 people.

The advanced treatment process at Tillman includes membrane filtration, reverse osmosis and ultraviolet advanced oxidation, according to LADWP.

The drinking water produced will be piped to L.A. County's Hansen Spreading Grounds. From there it will flow into basins and percolate into the San Fernando Groundwater Basin.

Later, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power will pump the water from wells. Upon added testing and treatment, the water will be delivered to taps, the Times reported.

While Los Angeles has recycled wastewater for decades, the treated water was used for outdoor irrigation. And this project has been long in the making: Some of the infrastructure, including the pipeline and pump stations, was built in the 1990s.

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