Building Support for Water Reuse: Engaging the Community During the Design and Construction of a 110M AWPF

The Water Replenishment District of Southern California, the state’s largest groundwater agency, manages two of the most utilized urban groundwater basins in the nation. Groundwater from these basins provides 50% of the total water supply for the four million people within the WRD service area in southern Los Angeles County. In a state politically divided over water issues, WRD implements a multifaceted education program to raise public awareness about the critical role groundwater and recycled water play in the development of locally sustainable water supplies.The WRD outreach program includes and educational division designed to be diverse in content, structure, and media in an effort to effectively reach all audiences. WRD provides training and resources to teachers to maximize the broadest classroom reach in the implementation of a long-term water science curriculum aligned with state standards. Additionally, our education and technical staff visit schools to provide water science focused STEM lessons to students ranging from Pre-Kindergarten through college. The District also holds an annual family-oriented, free Groundwater Festival and administers a water conservation themed calendar artwork contest for local elementary schoolers.As part of outreach for the general public, WRD offers a series of free water-smart landscaping courses that teach everything from drought tolerant plant selection and edible gardens to landscape design and professional irrigation practices. Furthermore, WRD leads tours of its water treatment facilities and of the county-owned spreading grounds to educate the public about groundwater recharge and management. These tours offer a “behind the scenes“ look that is not commonly available to the public; and they offer the most direct method of teaching the water treatment process and the practice of groundwater recharge.WRD employs multilingual, project-specific collateral brochures, quarterly newsletters, educational social media posts, and informational videos to routinely educate and update the residents on the status of District projects and programs and on the health of our groundwater basins. Moreover, WRD also engages elected officials and industry professionals through “Water 101” workshops and technical conference presentations and exhibits.WRD’s staff consistently re-evaluates the effectiveness of each aspect of the program and integrates public feedback. Through ongoing analyses, the District has discovered that concepts such as wastewater recycling and reclaimed water use are often misunderstood and can even frighten the public. To combat this issue, WRD has committed to providing an expanded, focused, educational outreach effort on water recycling technologies and tertiary or advanced treated water uses. The education effort was well-timed and has been centered on the construction of our Groundwater Reliability Improvement Project (GRIP) Advanced Water Treatment Facility. The program has included the distribution of hundreds of thousands of newsletters, collateral information, and door-hangers to thousands of local residents. Additionally, hundreds of hours of outreach and education have been completed through door-to-door visits, community updates, and presentations. Consequently, over 2,500 individual GRIP support cards have been received; scores of local chambers of commerce have endorsed the project; local legislators and city officials have lent their support; and the large water recycling capital improvement project has moved forward smoothly with not only community understanding, support, and excitement, but without any opposition. Increased understanding and acceptance of groundwater recharge using recycled water paves the way for a sustainable water future in a continually growing urban region.