Where Does Our Water Come From?

Moulton Niguel customers receive all of their drinking water from one of two sources, hundreds of miles from where it is delivered to you at your house or business: either from the Rocky Mountains or from the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Both systems required the sophisticated engineering of aqueducts, reservoirs, pump stations, and treatment plants to ensure water is available on-demand through mountains and across deserts.

The Colorado River Aqueduct is 242 miles long. It was constructed in 1939 and played a critical role in the economic development of Southern California in the mid 20th century. The other major supply of water travels over 700 miles from the Sierra Nevada Mountains through the State Water Project. It was built in 1960 and is one of the few man-made structures that can be seen from space. Currently, all water delivered to our customers from both the State Water Project and the Colorado River Aqueduct is treated at Metropolitan Water District’s Diemer Water Treatment facility.

Due to the potential risk to the area’s water supply in the event of an earthquake or natural disaster, the District’s Board of Directors took prudent actions to invest more than $70 million in regional projects to increase local reliability. The District worked closely with our regional partners to develop emergency storage, emergency connections, and additional water treatment facilities. These investments, along with local demand management efforts by our customers, provide the District reliability in the event of an interruption to any of these water sources. Additionally, the District is always looking at other opportunities to reduce dependence on imported water supplies through expanding our recycled water program or other local project investments.

Overall, tens of billions of dollars have been invested to create and maintain this intricate system of infrastructure to supply reliable clean water. So the next time you reach for a glass of water or irrigate your landscape, take time to reflect on the modern marvel providing that precious resource on demand. Our customers have done an outstanding job by using water wisely and we encourage your continued vigilance in reducing water waste.