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The City of Lakewood’s Department of Water Resources (DWR) pumps 100% of its water from underground aquifers directly beneath Lakewood. Lakewood DWR does not use imported water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD).
From Sept. 6-20, MWD will be making emergency repairs to one of its large pipelines that brings imported water from the Colorado River to many, but not all, areas of L.A. County. Those emergency repairs mean that MWD water supplies to its service areas will be severely limited during the 15 days from Sept. 6-20, and MWD has therefore mandated that customers receiving MWD water cease outdoor watering during the Sept. 6-20 time period in order to prioritize its limited water supplies.
Because Lakewood DWR does not receive any water from MWD, customers of Lakewood DWR are not impacted by the outdoor watering ban. However, existing Lakewood DWR conservation restrictions will remain in place, such as limiting outdoor watering to three days a week for 10 minutes per day (20 minutes a day if hand watering or utilizing high-efficiency, water-wise irrigation devices). A complete list of Lakewood DWR water restrictions can be found here.
The area of Lakewood that is east of the San Gabriel River is served by the Golden State Water Co., which will be issuing guidance to its Lakewood customers via a separate email notification regarding the impending MWD emergency repairs.
Within Southern California there are many water agencies that receive imported MWD water from the Colorado River and/or Northern California. However, there are also many water agencies that are self-sufficient with local water supplies and do not receive MWD water. That distinction makes it difficult for the news media to accurately report which communities are affected by the MWD emergency pipeline repairs and which are not.
For example, locally, the City of Long Beach Water Department receives 30% of its water from MWD and will be affected by the MWD pipeline repairs. But the City of Lakewood DWR uses 100% local groundwater and does not receive water from MWD and therefore will not be affected by the MWD emergency repairs. Do not be surprised if you read or hear incorrect information in the media or on social media in the days ahead about which communities are affected.
For up-to-date information or for questions, please feel free to contact Lakewood City Hall at 562-866-9771, ext. 2140 or [email protected]. To contact the Golden State Water Co., call 800-999-4033 or go to www.gswater.com.
** Note: The area of Lakewood east of the San Gabriel River annexed into the City of Lakewood in the 1960s. At that time, that eastern portion of Lakewood was served by a pre-existing water system that today is part of the Golden State Water Co., which has a large, interconnected system that provides water to many nearby communities in Southern California.
