The County Water Plan will establish a framework for a shared, inclusive, and regional path forward to address critical water needs in LA County, including water supply resilience, drinking water equity, healthy watersheds, and other identified priorities. This planning effort is being facilitated by Los Angeles County Public Works and is being developed in close coordination with local water agencies, partners, and community stakeholders.

The County is supported by a complex network of natural and engineered water systems that work collectively to meet the needs of our communities and environment. With over 200 water supply, wastewater treatment, flood control, and land management agencies, collaboration on a regional scale is critical to ensuring the resilience and sustainability of our shared resource. The County Water planning effort is an opportunity to think collectively and plan regionally—building upon our combined knowledge to facilitate the development and implementation of integrated solutions. The County Water Plan is being developed to leverage existing planning initiatives and facilitate broad and ongoing participation. The County Water Plan is focusing on key water management issues that have been identified through outreach efforts to-date, building upon other planning efforts throughout the region. Based on preliminary gap analyses, the key issues the County Water Plan will address include:

1. Water supply resilience: Climate change, earthquakes, increasing demand, and groundwater quality are among many challenges to LA County’s water supply. Coordinated efforts to increase resilience are needed in all water sectors – stormwater, potable water, and wastewater.


2. Drinking Water Equity: Drinking water quality and cost are not equitable across the county.


3. Healthy Watersheds and Livable Communities: Surface water quality, mitigating flood risk, healthy habitats, and recreational opportunities are not consistently provided to support livable communities.


4. Public Education and Engagement: Enhanced communication on regional water resources and systems is needed to improve public and decision-maker understanding of water issues and facilitate community engagement.


5. Small Water System Infrastructure: Some small water distribution systems lack the infrastructure and management systems to be resilient in the face of disruptions to supply and aging assets.


6. Regional Collaboration and Integration: There are over 200 agencies with separate water management responsibilities and infrastructure. Improved cross-sector collaboration and infrastructure integration could improve water resources management and help meet regional water goals.

The County Water Plan will work in concert with existing planning efforts to enhance and support other programs and initiatives while meeting planning needs that are not currently being addressed by other efforts. The County Water Plan seeks to complement existing water management planning efforts while also adding meaningful value within this larger planning context. The County Water Plan will also establish important connections to planning efforts conducted by individual entities with an interest in water management. Through these connections, the County Water Plan will provide insight into the complex systems governing water management within LA County and provide a forum for addressing the most critical water needs in LA County, including the water management goals identified in the OurCounty plan, as well as the development of integrated policies and strategies in support of local IRWM plans and programs. The County Water Plan is expected to help parties across the region articulate and advance shared goals and policies.

The County Water Plan is aligned with the OurCounty plan, the countrywide regional sustainability plan adopted by the County Board of Supervisors in August 2019, and Public Works regularly coordinates with the County Chief Sustainability Office. The County Water Plan will directly support the implementation of several specific water management-related actions from the OurCounty plan. The County Water Plan will also integrate key strategies identified in OurCounty during the development of County Water Plan. The County Water Plan will adopt a similar planning structure and terminology using Goals, Strategies, Actions, Targets, and Indicators as key planning elements, which will streamline tracking progress toward established goals. Public input received during the OurCounty planning process was used to develop the planning framework, goals, strategies, and actions, as well as identify education areas.

Collaboration is key to the successful development of the County Water Plan. The County Water Plan will be developed with broad and ongoing participation from entities with an interest in water management throughout the region and state, including local water agencies, partners, and community stakeholders. A Draft County Water Plan will be developed in 2022 by Los Angeles County Public Works that documents the results of the stakeholder Technical Workgroups to develop targets in support of regional goals as well as strategies and actions. The Draft County Water Plan will be circulated for public review prior to being adopted by the County Board of Supervisors.

Local water agencies, partners, and community stakeholders are invited to participate in the development of the County Water Plan. There are multiple ways to engage.

• Follow progress by joining the County Water Plan contact list .


• Attend the workshops at upcoming IRWM meetings to review and provide input on County Water Plan planning elements. The County Water Plan will bring content to regional and subregional IRWM meetings during plan development in 2021 and 2022. These meetings are open to the public and a schedule of upcoming meetings with County Water Plan topics will be available on the County Water Plan website.


• Review and provide comment on the Draft County Water Plan when it is available in mid-2022.

The County Water Plan will be drafted in 2021 and 2022. A Public Draft County Water Plan is currently expected to be completed by mid-2022, followed by public and County Board of Supervisor review. To track opportunities for review and input, sign up to join the County Water Plan contact list.