Jacobs has begun construction on the $740 million Los Angeles Groundwater Replenishment Project in the San Fernando Valley, a key part of the city’s efforts to ensure a drought-resistant drinking water supply for Southern California. The Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant will purify 25 million gallons of wastewater daily, replenishing the drought-stressed San Fernando Basin and its aquifers.

“This work with LASAN and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power on the Groundwater Replenishment Project will help provide a sustainable and resilient local drinking water supply for Angelinos,” said Greg Fischer, vice president of design-build, operations management, and facilities services at Jacobs.

The L.A. Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is leading the project in partnership with L.A. Sanitation & Environment, aiming to recycle all of the city’s wastewater and expand local water sources to supply 70% of the city’s total needs by 2035. Currently, L.A. imports about 90% of its water.

Jacobs, based in Dallas, was awarded the design-build contract for the $500 million advanced water purification facility in 2023. It also won the contract to build the advanced water equalization basins, with Omaha-based Kiewit serving as its lead contracting partner.

The new Tillman facility will mark the first time Los Angeles uses recycled water for drinking. The project, which has been in the works for decades, was approved by the city’s Board of Water and Power Commissioners in October.

“The project has been in the making for three decades, but bad publicity around reusing wastewater derailed the effort in 2000,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

The wastewater treatment process includes membrane filtration, reverse osmosis, and ultraviolet advanced oxidation. The purified water will be piped to the Hansen Spreading Grounds, where it will filter into the groundwater aquifer before being pumped out for further testing and treatment.

The project has secured $81 million in funding through the federal Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program and is slated for completion in December 2027, with the facility operational by summer 2028. Additionally, the city plans more water treatment initiatives under the Pure Water Los Angeles program, totaling billions of dollars.