A coalition of conservation groups is urging California to reach 85% local water supply by 2045, scrap plans for a 45-mile Delta tunnel, and consider a bond measure to fund recycling, stormwater capture, and groundwater cleanup.
Cranes rose above the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant in Van Nuys as the coalition’s message landed in Sacramento: Southern California should lean less on faraway rivers and more on water made, captured, and cleaned closer to home.
The groups released a 34-page strategy arguing that by 2045 the region could obtain up to 85% of its water locally. compared with the roughly 50% it gets now. They want state leaders to scrap plans for a 45-mile tunnel beneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. and they are pressing for consideration of a bond measure that voters could approve to fund local water solutions.
The timing is sharp. The coalition says critical decisions loom for local officials, California’s next governor, and legislators. Over the last century. Southern California has grown and thrived by building giant aqueducts to bring water from hundreds of miles away. including the Eastern Sierra. the Colorado River. and Northern California. But rising costs and the added pressure of climate change have pushed more attention toward whether the region can replace that dependence with local supplies.
“We have to prioritize our investments, and prioritizing them in local water makes the most sense,” said Bruce Reznik, executive director of the group Los Angeles Waterkeeper.
The coalition includes fishing groups, environmental organizations, and the Northern California’s Winnemem Wintu Tribe. Its plan calls for what it describes as a “new urban water renaissance” that prioritizes local water.
In their framework, local solutions are not just an environmental preference—they’re framed as a financial choice with fewer strings attached to the Delta tunnel. The state estimated in 2024 that the tunnel would cost $20.1 billion, but opponents argue it could run three to five times higher.
Kyle Jones, a water expert and consultant who helped prepare the plan, said local water is more adaptable as conditions change.
“Local water is reliable, it’s more affordable, and it’s more flexible, so that we’re not committing California ratepayers to higher bills that they don’t need,” Jones said. Southern California imports about half of its water from other regions.
The coalition’s plan estimates the region could secure up to 2 million acre-feet of local water per year. It puts the price tag for conservation and efficiency upgrades, more stormwater capture, groundwater cleaning, and increased water recycling at $44 billion over two decades.
The coalition contrasts that with its estimate that the Delta tunnel could cost $60 billion to $100 billion.
Whether the tunnel project ultimately moves forward, the groups say, may come down to participation by large water agencies—especially the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California—because the agency’s decision could determine whether the financing and long-term cost burden pencil out.
“Metropolitan Water District really does have a significant choice on it. that not just impacts their ratepayers but impacts every single person in the state. ” said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla. executive director of Restore the Delta. “Are we going to spend $20, $60, maybe upward to $100 million on a tunnel?. Or are we going to invest significant money in local solutions that provide water resiliency and sustainability for everyone in California?. That is what is at stake right now.”.
The Metropolitan Water District is already planning a large new facility in Carson to transform wastewater into purified drinking water. Los Angeles and San Diego are also building water recycling plants.
At the same time, Shivaji Deshmukh, the MWD’s general manager, said imported water still underpins supply reliability for Southern California.
“At the same time. water imported from the northern Sierra and the Colorado River provides the foundation of water supply reliability for Southern California. ” Deshmukh said. He pointed to the agency’s investments in water efficiency and stormwater capture and said the MWD has helped reduce per-person water use by more than 40% since 1990.
Deshmukh also noted that the agency’s 38-member board adopted a climate adaptation strategy last year that sets goals for lining up additional water.
Los Angeles city leaders and L.A. County supervisors have also set goals for becoming more locally self-sufficient, according to the coalition.
The advocates argue those efforts should accelerate and expand. They point to stress on the Colorado River system, saying reservoirs are falling to perilously low levels. They also cite decline among native fish in the Delta, saying pumping takes an ecological toll.
Ashley Overhouse, a water policy advisor for Defenders of Wildlife, said climate change is worsening the underlying pressures.
“Climate change is exacerbating the challenges in those ecosystems, meaning that less and less water will be available to import,” Overhouse said. “All the while, the cost of water is continuing to rise.”
About 20 other environmental groups endorsed the coalition’s strategy.
Frankie Myers, a member of the Yurok Tribe in Northern California, framed the debate as more than infrastructure—it’s about consequences.
“We have got to do a better job in the next 100 years than we did in the last 100 years, if we truly want to create a place of abundance once again,” Myers said. “This idea that we can steal … and divert water however we want with no consequences has got to end.”
As the plan was presented during an online briefing, Benjamin Bass, a UCLA scientist who studies how climate change is affecting the Colorado River and other water sources, joined the coalition.
“Traditional sources for imported water are less reliable than they used to be,” Bass said. “The most reliable source of water in the future is local water.”
Other experts have reached similar conclusions. Researchers at the Pacific Institute. a water think tank in Oakland. have examined improvements that include fixing leaks in pipes. switching out inefficient washing machines and toilets. and replacing thirsty lawns with plants suited to California’s Mediterranean climate.
In a 2022 report, the institute found that standard practices and technologies could reduce total urban water use by 30% or more.
For the coalition. the message is plain: if California wants to protect water supplies while limiting risk to ecosystems and household budgets. the region should build more of its future from local sources—recycling wastewater. capturing stormwater. and cleaning up groundwater—rather than betting on a massive tunnel project under the Delta.
Southern California water Delta tunnel Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta water recycling stormwater capture groundwater cleanup Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Gavin Newsom conservation groups Los Angeles Waterkeeper Restore the Delta