As Los Angeles pushes for local water, new study explores trade-offs for county’s energy needs

Los Angeles County imports most of its water from distant sources, which is energy-intensive and leaves the region’s water supply vulnerable to disasters like earthquakes. 

As Los Angeles County moves toward sourcing more of its water locally, a team of researchers from UCLA and across California have published an analysis of how targeted changes in water supply could affect the county’s energy needs, as well as the significant energy requirements of residential water heating.