| Water Supply * | 1990 | 1994 | 1995 | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amount Used in the SCAG Region (in million acre feet per year) | 4.98 | 4.35 | 4.14 | 4.47 | |
| Amount Imported by Metropolitan Water District (MWD) | |||||
| Colorado River | 1.24 | 1.30 | 1.10 | 1.20 | |
| State Water Project` | 1.33 | 0.82 | 0.59 | 1.37 | |
| Los Angeles Aqueduct | 0.21 | 0.21 | 0.26 | 0.20 | |
| Million Acre Feet Recycled per year | 0.24 | 0.25 | 0.28 | 0.55 | |
| Percentage of Water Recycled | 6% | 7% | 8% | 10% |
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) supplies
85% of the population of the SCAG region. The figures shown for total water
used were estimated by multiplying MWD totals by 1.15 (note that these numbers
do not include the large quantity of water used for irrigation in Imperial
County). The imported and recycled water figures are accurate as reported by
MWD (including 120,000 acre feet per year (AFY) of waste water used to recharge
the Santa Ana River basin as recycled water).
The State Department of Water Resources predicts statewide shortfalls of up to 4.1 million acre-feet per year (AFY) [an acre-foot = 325,851 gallons] by the year 2010. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has identified a shortage in Southern California of 0.23 million AFY in 1990, increasing to nearly 3 million AFY by 2040. Reclamation of waste water is a "drought resistant"
source because it flows independent of rainfall. A U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
study identified the total waste water production in the SCAG region at over
1.6 million AFY in 1990, increasing to 2.5 million AFY in 2010. They believe
all of this water could eventually be reclaimed (which could eliminate the need
for imported water). Currently only a small fraction of waste water is being
recycled; most is discharged to the ocean.