Metropolitan, Sanitation Districts brief Carson on Pure Water Southern California project; EIR comment period ends July 14

Leaders from the Metropolitan Water District and the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts on July 1 gave Carson officials and residents an update on the Pure Water Southern California program and urged local feedback on the project’s draft environmental impact report, which the presenters said is open for comment through July 14.

The presentation described a multi-decade, multi‑phase program centered at the AK Warren wastewater treatment facility in Carson that Metropolitan assistant general manager John Bednarski and sanitation districts general manager Robert Ferrante said would ultimately produce about 150,000,000 gallons per day of purified water and serve roughly 1.5 million people in Metropolitan’s service area. “On full build out, it’s gonna be a very large project, a 150,000,000 gallons per day,” Bednarski said.

The nut of the presentation was timing, scope and local impacts: the agencies said the draft environmental impact report (EIR) is out for public review, that they have received public comments and that the city and residents should submit feedback by July 14. Bednarski and Ferrante said the program will be implemented in modules over many years — design and EIR certification targeted in early 2026, construction to follow after board approvals, and phased startup stretching from the early 2030s into the 2040s.

The project team reviewed technical and community details. The plan would add advanced purification equipment at the AK Warren facility and build conveyance pipelines and pump stations to move purified water north through Carson and into the San Gabriel River corridor alignment. Bednarski said the expected pipeline alignment would run north on Main Street, east on Sepulveda Boulevard, diagonally up Alameda to Del Amo Boulevard, and that Metropolitan has an agreement with Southern California Edison to use rights-of-way along the San Gabriel River to reduce work in city streets.

The agencies framed economic and community benefits alongside construction impacts. Bednarski said Metropolitan’s current cost estimate for full build out is about $8,000,000,000 in capital spending, which the agencies estimate could generate more than $15,000,000,000 in regional economic output during construction and create more than 75,000 construction‑phase jobs. Ferrante described planned community benefits at the AK Warren facility including a workforce development center, an innovation center, public outreach facilities and an annual public festival planned for Nov. 15 at the AK Warren site.

The presenters also summarized the EIR’s principal areas of concern. Bednarski told the council that the draft EIR identifies potentially significant impacts in four areas — cultural and tribal cultural resources, air quality, and noise — because the precise locations of some project elements along the alignment remain to be determined. “We don’t know what we’re gonna find once we start excavating in the streets,” he said when explaining the cultural‑resource risk. The agencies said the EIR takes a conservative approach and proposes mitigation measures where feasible.

Council members pressed for detail on pipeline construction and neighborhood impacts. Mayor Pro Tem Cedric Hicks said the planned route would pass near schools and a park and asked how the project would reduce traffic and safety risks; Bednarski said the program anticipates a mix of open‑cut trenching and tunneling, and that the Alameda Corridor and other congested locations are candidates for tunneling and micro‑tunneling. Bednarski also said the team has discussed construction staging with Marathon Oil and that tunneling launch sites could be located on private property to reduce street disruption.

Workforce development and local hiring were repeatedly emphasized. Ferrante and Bednarski said the project would include an explicit workforce-development center at AK Warren, project labor agreements to encourage local hiring, apprenticeship slots and targeted programs for emancipated foster youth and local high‑school students. Ferrante said staff are already coordinating with Carson High School to pilot programming for juniors and seniors this fall.

The agencies said funding work is underway: they reported more than $200,000,000 has been secured for early planning from state and federal sources and partner contributions and that they expect to pursue climate bond and other funding to limit rate impacts. Bednarski said the agencies aim to avoid construction during the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, and that construction in Carson is not expected to begin until after the two‑week Olympic period.

The presenters concluded by asking the city to submit comments on the EIR and by offering tours, technical briefings and community outreach. “We’re here to support you,” Bednarski said, and he identified Alisa as Metropolitan’s local lead for outreach and Genesis as the sanitation district’s local lead.

The council did not take formal action on the project at the meeting; staff said they plan to prepare and submit comments on the draft EIR before the July 14 deadline.

The agencies requested written feedback and emphasized mitigation planning for traffic, noise and cultural resources where construction would occur. They also asked for help identifying businesses that might need outreach and potential staging locations to minimize disruption.