West Basin recycled water production surges as seawater barrier rehabilitation concludes

West Basin recycled water production surges as seawater barrier rehabilitation concludesFollowing extended downtime for well rehabilitation at the county's aged seawater intrusion barrier, West Basin Municipal Water District has reported a significant spike in recycled water deliveries, easily surpassing monthly budget targets.

March recycled water sales reached 2,965 acre-feet, beating budget projections by 394 acre-feet and year-over-year figures by 1,556 acre-feet.

Deliveries to the seawater barrier accounted for 1,068 acre-feet of the monthly total, alongside 1,649 acre-feet to local refineries.

The production increase follows a period of depressed output caused by county-led rehabilitation work on aged barrier facilities.

Potable water sales also tracked high, reaching 7,248 acre-feet for the month, exceeding budget by 2,013 acre-feet.

West Basin Municipal Water District (WBMWD) is seeing a substantial rebound in its water reuse program, reporting a sharp spike in recycled water sales following the resolution of infrastructure bottlenecks at the county's seawater intrusion barrier. During an April 14 Finance & Administration Committee meeting, district staff reported that recycled water sales for March reached 2,965 acre-feet. The figure surpassed the district's monthly budget by 394 acre-feet and represented a massive 1,556 acre-foot increase compared to the same month last year. The total included 1,068 acre-feet delivered to the seawater barrier, 1,649 acre-feet to local refineries, and 248 acre-feet of disinfected tertiary water. General Manager EJ Caldwell attributed the surge to a concerted push by utility leadership to maximize recycled water output after a challenging period of restricted deliveries. Earlier in the year, the county was forced to shut off sections of the seawater barrier to rehabilitate aged well facilities, significantly reducing the volume of recycled water West Basin could deliver into the system. "The county's facilities are pretty aged, and so periodically they will reduce a lot of the flow in order to take out a well or several wells offline to rehabilitate them," explained staff member Eric Owens during the meeting. With that rehabilitation work largely concluded, the district is now capitalizing on the restored capacity. "We're really starting to see, I think, the fruit of the labor and our constant effort of trying to get that up," Caldwell told the committee. "In our last three months, we've not just exceeded last year, but exceeded the budget." Alongside the strong reuse figures, West Basin also reported robust potable water sales of 7,248 acre-feet for the month, exceeding budget projections by 2,013 acre-feet. Financially, the district reported total monthly expenditures of $15.9 million for March. The vast majority of these demands were driven by imported water costs, with $11.7 million—accounting for 73% of the monthly total—paid to the Metropolitan Water District.