State data shows the work is supported by about $590 million in grants and low-interest loans, much of it from the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds
California has added an estimated 2.9 billion gallons of drinking water to its annual supply following the completion or groundbreaking of eight state-funded water infrastructure projects this fall, according to state officials. The projects — located in communities from Orange County to the Bay Area and the Sierra — include wastewater treatment upgrades, recycled water systems and new desalination facilities.
State data shows the work is supported by about $590 million in grants and low-interest loans, much of it from the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds. The investments are part of a broader effort to expand local water supplies and modernize aging systems as the state faces more volatile weather patterns. More than 1 million Californians are expected to benefit from the latest round of projects.
In Irvine, a new treatment system funded by a $2.8 million state grant is removing PFAS — a class of “forever chemicals” — from groundwater serving about 38,000 people. San Luis Obispo recently completed a major upgrade to its Water Resource Recovery Facility, replacing decades-old equipment with the help of a $140 million state loan.
On the Central Coast, Monterey One Water opened an advanced purification plant designed to add recycled water for roughly 6,700 households each year. In the Bay Area, San Francisco and San Mateo County finished wastewater improvements aimed at increasing capacity during storms and reducing overflows into local waterways.
Farther inland, projects in Antioch and Tahoe City are expanding local drinking water sources through brackish water desalination and lake water treatment, while a sewer expansion underway in Yucca Valley is expected to connect thousands of residents to centralized wastewater service.
According to the State Water Resources Control Board, the agency invested about $2 billion in water projects during the last fiscal year and has distributed more than $11 billion in assistance since 2019. State officials say additional storage and conveyance projects — including Sites Reservoir and the Delta Conveyance Project — remain in development as part of California’s long-term water strategy.
