County of Los Angeles Civil Grand Jury 222South HillStreet•Sixth Floor•Suite670•LosAngeles,California 90012

"Stormwater capture can provide a valuable source ofwater within the LACFCD." Response: Agree Metropolitan agrees that stormwater capture can provide a valuable source ofwater within the LACFCD and throughout Southern California.

''Increasing storage volumes behind dams will allow increasedstormwater capture." Response: Agree. Agree, but Metropolitan believes that expanding existing spreading grounds may provide more stormwater capture potential. In addition, distributed stormwater capture can be an effective tool, especially in fully developed urban areas

"Increasing the number ofspreading grounds will allow more infiltration of .stormwater." Response: Agree Agree, but Metropolitan believes that expanding existing spreading grounds may provide more stormwater capture potential.

".Measure Wprojects are beneficial to .stormwater capture, but dams andspreading grounds provide, byfar, the large.st volume ofstormwater capture. " Response: Agree Agree. Spreading grounds and dam modifications do provide more water supply benefits compared to sub-regional or distributed stormwater projects. Distributed stormwater capture can be an effective tool, especially in fully developed urban areas THE METROPOLITAN WATER DISTRICT OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Presiding Judge of the Superior Court of California October 2. 2023

''The application process for Measure Wfunding is time consuming and expensive." Response: Agree partially. While Metropolitan does not agree that Measure W funding is unnecessarily time consuming, Metropolitandoes encourage efforts to streamlinethe application process for Measure W to prioritize project implementation. We recognize the groundbreaking work of LA County Public Works and their partners in the advancement of Measure W. As Southern California faces climate whiplash, the need for climate adaptation is urgent. It is imperative to accelerate every effort.

'^Measure Woutreachfunds are under-utilized. " Response: Agree Metropolitan encourages efforts to expand Measure W outreach funds.

"Increasing green space is beneficial to groundwater recharge'^ Response: Agree partially. The recharge effectivenessofgreen space projects is dependent upon whether there are groundwater recharge elements inthe project andwhether the groundwater conditions are confined or unconfined. In areas where there are unconfined groundwater conditions, increasing green space may be beneficial to groundwater recharge. Inareaswhere there are confined groundwater conditions, theremaynot be a benefitto groundwater recharge.

''Treated wastewater is being under-utilized:'' Response; Disagree, partially LACSD currently recycles and usesabout 115,000 acre-feet per year. The Citycurrently recyclesand uses about 134,000acre-feet per year. BetweenLACSDand the City, about 30 percent ofthe available recycled water is reused. The biggest opportunities are at the Hyperion Plant and at the .IWPCP. where most ofthe wastewater is discharged to the ocean. Metropolitan is proposing Pure Waterand the City is proposing OperationNext, which will increase the utilization rate of recycled water to above 80 percent. Finding FIG: "There is no master planned county wide system to distribute treated wastewater." Response: Disagree, partially. While there is no overarching county-wide master plan effort for treated wastewater, LACSD and the City have completed master planning efforts for their service areas. i-ACSD completed the Clearwater Program Master Facilities Plan in 2012. The City is currently urderway with the master planning effort entitled Hyperion 2035. THE METROPOLITAN WATER DISTRICT OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Presiding Judge ofthe Superior Court of California October 2. 2023 Finding Fi 1: "There is no funding program to establish a comprehensivepurple water systemT Response: Disagree Since 1982, Metropolitan has assisted local agencies in the development of water recycling projects under the Local Resources Program (LRP). The LRP has evolved over time to help support the development of local water recycling projects including the methodology for providing the incentives to the member agencies. In October 2014, Metropolitan's Board approved additional LRP refinements to support further development ofwater recycling in the service area. These refinements covered increasing the maximum incentive amount, offering three incentive payment structures, including on-site recycled water retrofit costs, and providing reimbursable services for Metropolitan's technical assistance. In addition. Metropolitan is developing its own regional program. Pure Water, that would provide advanced treated water for both potable and non-potable reuse. To date. Metropolitan has provided member agencies with $534 million for water recycling projects that have produced more than 3 million acre-feet since the initiation of the program.

"ATW can he a substitutefor imported water. " Response: Agree, partially At this time, recycled water can only serve non-potableand potable reuse for groundwater recharge projects. Therefore, ATW can only substitute for importedwater if the projects are for non-potable uses or replenishmentprojects. Raw water augmentation and drinking water augmentation regulations are currently in development and are expected to be final by the end of2023.

""Construction ofATWfacilities is expensiveand seriously underfunded. " Response: Disagree, partially Metropolitan agrees that the construction of ATW facilities is expensive. However, Metropolitan disagrees that it is seriously underfunded. As described above. Metropolitan has invested $534 million to date in order to accelerate water recycling projects, including ATW. In addition. Metropolitan and LACSD have partnered to fund the Pure Water project. Other utilities such as Orange County Water District and Orange County Sanitation Dis:rict ha\ e partnered to complete the Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS) that currently produces up to 130 mgd for groundwater replenishment in the Orange County Basin. THE METROPOLITAN WATER DISTRICT OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Presiding Judge ofthe Superior Court ofCalifornia October 2. 2023

''The San Fernando Basin remains on the Environmental Protection Agency's Super Fund list. " Response: Agree, partially Metropolitan agrees that the San Fernando Basin remains on the Environmental Proiection Agency's Super Fund list. In addition, portions ofthe Main San Gabriel Basin are also on the Environmental Protection Agency's Super Fund list.

''The permittingprocessfor stormwater and wastewaterprojects take several years to complete. " Response: Agree Agree. In particular, the permitting process for wastewater projects can be many years, depending upon the complexity of the project. Metropolitan Responses on Recommendations: