Rep. Linda Sanchez Headlines WRD's Water 101 Forum
Event highlights So Cal's Water Challenges and WRD Innovative Solutions
LAKEWOOD, Calif., Aug. 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Local leaders and community stakeholders packed the Water Replenishment District of Southern California's (WRD) headquarters for the 2nd Water 101 Forum. The event was designed to update local officials on current federal and local water projects and legislation designed to address the State's water challenges.
Congresswoman Linda Sanchez (D-39), member of the Ways & Means Committee and Judiciary Committee, WRD Board President Sergio Calderon and WRD Board Vice President Lillian Kawasaki kicked off the event by highlighting the state's significant water supply challenges.
Within the WRD service area, groundwater provides forty percent of the overall water supply to more than 4 million residents, representing 10% of the State's population.. With California facing its fourth year of drought and significant reduction of water from the Bay Delta, the reliability of our groundwater supply becomes even more important.
Director Kawasaki, whose Division Three mostly lies in the 39th Congressional District, provided the public with an overview of WRD's innovative water reuse and replenishment programs, highlighting the District's Water Independence Now (WIN) program and the cornerstone Groundwater Reliability Improvement Program (GRIP).
WIN is a suite of programs that aim to eliminate the District's reliance on imported water for replenishing the area's groundwater supplies through the development of locally sustainable water sources. This will enhance water reliability, affordability and generate local job opportunities.
"WRD recognizes the need for statewide collaboration and planning in finding a long-term solution to our State's water challenges," stated WRD Board Vice President Lillian Kawasaki. "That is why a multi-regional program like GRIP is essential to ensuring the region's drinking water supply," concluded Kawasaki.
The Congresswoman highlighted WRD's proposed GRIP program, the multi-agency partnership between the County Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County, WRD, Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District, and San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District that will provided highly treated recycled water for groundwater replenishment purposes.
"California faces unprecedented and complex water challenges that need a comprehensive approach to securing the reliability of our region's water supply," stated Congresswoman Linda Sanchez. "GRIP is a smart approach that will ensure our region's ability to create a local reliable source of water for replenishing the groundwater basins," concluded Sanchez.
WRD manages two of the most heavily used groundwater basins in the state of California and plays a significant role in providing groundwater to southern Los Angeles County.
Created by voters in 1959, WRD is a regional groundwater management agency that protects and preserves the quantity and quality of groundwater supplies for 10 percent of the State's population residing in southern Los Angeles County.
SOURCE Water Replenishment District of Southern California
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