Water Resources

Long Beach Utilities has been delivering a safe and dependable water supply to our residents and businesses within the City of Long Beach for over 100 years. The department continues to meet increasing future water demands by developing more reliable and resilient water supplies. LBUD plans to increase the use of local supplies and reliability by reducing imported water purchases, and continuing to invest in groundwater production, recycled water use and water conservation. One of the main challenges that LBUD faces is increasing local supplies while maintaining aging infrastructure. Ongoing evaluation and planning are key components to address system needs and plan improvements, to coincide with growth, reliability, water efficiency, and of course, aging infrastructure. 

In 2019, Long Beach Utilities published its first Water Resources Plan. The purpose of the WRP is to provide a long-term water resources strategy that meets specified objectives and adapts to changing future conditions such as (1) threats to local groundwater and imported water; (2) regulatory requirements; and (3) impacts of climate change. 

Picture of Water Resources Plan 2019.png(PDF, 3MB)

In 2020, Long Beach Utilities published its Urban Water Management Plan. Urban water suppliers are required by California state law to submit an Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) to the State at designated time periods; roughly once every five years, effective first on January 1, 1984. The Long Beach Utilities Department (LBUD) is an urban water supplier and therefore must submit a 2020 UWMP. The Long Beach Utilities Department (LBUD) 2020 UWMP has two purposes:

(1) it serves as a plan for the City’s reliable water supply and managing water resources consistent with LBUD’s goals and policy objectives; 

(2) it fulfills LBUD’s obligations under the California’s Urban Water Management Planning Act. The LBUD 2020 UWMP reports, describes, and evaluates the following:

  • An estimate of the demand for water in its service area for at least 20 years into the future (2020 through 2050), in five-year increments
  • The degree to which, during this time frame, LBUD will be able to meet water demands in a single dry water year, in consecutive multi-year droughts, and during average year conditions; 
  • The stages of actions LBUD would undertake to address up to and beyond a 50 percent reduction in its water supplies; and
  • The reasonable and practical efficient uses of water, recycling, and conservation activities in its service area.

Image for UWMP_2020.png(PDF, 37MB)

 

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