As you turn on the tap in your home or business, all the water you see started as snowmelt in the Sierra Mountains. Water is brought to our area through the California Aqueduct and travels more than 440 miles to reach your tap. It is purchased from Metropolitan Water District of southern California (MWD), the Southland's regional water wholesaler. LVMWD must import 100% of our drinking water because there are no native supplies to draw from within our 122-square mile service area.
Each year, LVMWD sets aside a portion of the water purchased form MWD as a reserve and stores it in our own Las Virgenes Reservoir. Holding enough water to serve district customers for about six months, the reservoir provides water "insurance" for times of emergency. In addition, it provides flexibility to store water in the off-season when demand is lower.
Before water arrives at your tap, it has been treated, filtered, disinfected, routinely sampled and tested. Even before the journey to your tap begins, much effort goes into protecting water supplies at their source in Northern California and protecting it along the way. This has many benefits, including fewer contaminants in the water supply, better water quality, greater safety, and lower treatment costs. Thus, although far away, the fate of levees in the Bay Delta area is of great importance for our local water supply. This sensitive "crossroads" for water supplies significantly impacts the quality and reliability of our drinking water supply.