Eastern Municipal Water District of Southern California facts for kids
The Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD) is a special water agency in Southern California. It was started in 1950 to bring more water to a mostly farming area in western Riverside County. Besides providing water, EMWD also collects and treats sewage, cleans salty water (called water desalination), and recycles water.
EMWD also sells water to eight other water agencies. These agencies then serve their own customers. Some of these agencies are Elsinore Valley MWD, Western MWD of Riverside County, Lake Hemet MWD, the City of Perris, the City of Hemet, and the City of San Jacinto.
EMWD's main office and operations center are located in Perris.
Contents
What is the History of EMWD?
Since it began in 1950, the Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD) has changed a lot. It started as a small agency that mostly helped farms. Now, most of its customers are homes and businesses.
EMWD was created under a special law called the Municipal Water District Act of 1911. In 1951, EMWD joined the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD). EMWD currently has about 620 employees working for it.
What Does EMWD Do?
EMWD owns and runs many important facilities to bring water to homes and businesses.
Water Pipelines and Storage
EMWD has over 2,500 miles of pipes that carry clean drinking water. That's like driving from California to New York! They also have 79 tanks to store drinking water, 86 pumping stations, and 14 active wells that pump clean water from underground. They also have 13 wells that pump salty water for cleaning.
Water Treatment Plants
EMWD has plants in Hemet and Perris that clean drinking water. They also have three special facilities in Menifee that use a process called reverse osmosis to clean salty groundwater. This process makes it safe to drink.
Wastewater Treatment and Recycling
EMWD also owns and runs four large facilities that clean wastewater (sewage). These are located in Perris, Moreno Valley, Temecula, and San Jacinto. Every day, they treat about 47 million gallons of wastewater from over 263,000 connections.
After cleaning, this wastewater becomes high-quality recycled water. This recycled water is then used to water sports fields, golf courses, parks, schools, and other landscapes. EMWD uses 100 percent of its recycled water for good purposes, making it a leader in water recycling.
Where Does EMWD Get Its Water?
EMWD gets its water from different places, both local and from far away.
Imported Water
About half of EMWD's water comes from outside the area. This "imported" water is bought from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. This water comes from big projects like the State Water Project and the Colorado River Aqueduct.
Local Groundwater
EMWD also uses a lot of local groundwater from the San Jacinto Groundwater Basin. About 10 percent of EMWD's water comes from these underground sources. Another 5 percent comes from cleaning salty groundwater at their desalination facilities in Menifee.
Recycled Water
Recycled water makes up about 34 percent of EMWD's total water supply. This water is used to irrigate farms, schools, parks, golf courses, and industrial areas. Using recycled water helps save fresh drinking water.
In 2023, EMWD approved a plan to get water rights from a proposed cleaning plant in Laguna Beach. This plan would mean EMWD gets more imported water, while the Laguna Beach area uses the cleaned ocean water.
How is EMWD Governed?
EMWD is managed by a group of five people called the Board of Directors. These directors are in charge of making sure EMWD runs properly for all the people it serves.
The directors are chosen by voters in five different areas. They serve for four years. Elections are held every two years for at least two of the areas to make sure there's always a mix of experienced and new directors. Directors must live in the area they represent.
The current Board of Directors includes Philip E. Paule (District 1), Stephen J. Corona (District 2), Randy A. Record (District 3), Jeff Armstrong (District 4), and David J. Slawson (District 5). One of the directors, Randy A. Record, also serves on the board for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
Where Does EMWD Provide Service?
EMWD serves a large area of about 558 square miles. This includes parts of cities like Moreno Valley, Hemet, Perris, San Jacinto, Menifee, Murrieta, Temecula, and Canyon Lake. It also includes smaller communities like Mead Valley and Winchester.
About 870,500 people live in EMWD's service area. EMWD provides water to about 159,000 homes and businesses, 114 farms, and manages 263,000 wastewater connections. It also provides recycled water to 686 accounts. EMWD is the sixth-largest retail water agency in California, serving about 34 percent of all the people in Riverside County.
See also
- Water supply and sanitation in the United States
- Metropolitan Water District
