Burbank City Council
February 8, 2022

Water Supply
Reliability Projects
and Proposals

WATER AND
POWER
City Council
February 8, 2022
Water Supply Facts
• Burbank does not have water rights
• All of our water must be imported by the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) of Southern California
• Burbank purchases treated and untreated water from MWD • We “spread” untreated water onto the ground where it
seeps into the aquifer. The water is stored there, like a bank account and it accounts for 75% of the water that we deliver to customers

Spreading Grounds
 Located in Sylmar at the terminus of MWD’s San
Fernando Tunnel
 Deliveries are spread at Pacoima and/or Lopez
spreading grounds
 Relied on for approximately 6,800 AFY
 Necessary for maintaining groundwater inventory

Burbank Operable Unit (BOU)
 Treats the groundwater to remove chemicals
from Lockheed’s airplane manufacturing
operations
 Required by the EPA to remediate the
contamination
 Water quality meets or exceeds state and
federal water quality regulations

Watermaster’s Role
• Established to oversee the San Fernando Ground Water Basin • Keeps the official account of how much water is stored, used, and transferred within the basin
• Burbank does not have its own water supply – what we have is what we purchase from MWD and, therefore…
• Burbank does not have its own water supply projects – we have to maximize what we already have

Burbank’s Current and Future
Potable Water Use
2021 2045
• Treated Water Purchased from MWD 4,468 AF 11,310 AF
• Ground Water Treated from the BOU 11,937 AF 11,700 AF Total Delivered to Customers 16,405 AF 22,010 AF

MWD’s Water Supply Projects Under
Development
Annual Yield
(Acre-Feet)
Estimated
Completion
Date
State Water Project
Sites Reservoir 50,000 2030
Water Banking 83,000 2024
Colorado River
Quechan Fallowing Program 3,000 2022
Regional Recycled Water Program 168,000 2030
Local Supplies
Under Construction 125,492 2026
Conservation 10,600 2030
TOTAL 440,092 2030

Other Conceptual-Level Projects
Including CEQA Phase Projects
• Seawater Desalination Projects 101,000 AF
• Groundwater Recovery Projects 34,730 AF
• Recycled Water Projects 222,992 AF
Total 358,722 AF

Summary
• MWD can meet Burbank’s projected water increase of 5,605 AF over the next 30 years
• Additional 440,092 AF supplies available to MWD’s service area within 8 Years from projects under construction
• 358,722 AF of supplies from conceptual level or CEQA- stage projects by MWD member agencies
• New housing projects are the most water-efficient
units. Single-family homes use the most.

Moving Forward – Short Term
• Conservation is, and will be, a way of life
• We cannot conserve our way out of climate change
• Continued funding and development of regional water
supplies is critical

Moving Forward – Long Term
• Maximizing what we have – recycled water – is a key
investment for our future
 Indirect potable reuse
 Direct potable reuse
• Bold thinking is needed to deliver new ideas
 Seawater desalination
 Pipelines from water-rich regions