As the General Manager of Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD), one of our agency’s successes I am most proud of is our industry-leading recycled water efforts and how EMWD has become a nationally-recognized agency for our partnerships with agricultural customers. EMWD provides our local farmers with a cost-effective, safe and reliable recycled water supply.

Currently, 100 percent of the recycled water produced at our four regional water reclamation facilities is allocated for beneficial reuse. In 2019, our recycled water supplies comprised 36% of our water supply portfolio.  Approximately two-thirds of that recycled water supply is used to irrigate fields that provide fruits and vegetables for grocery stores, restaurants, farmers markets and households throughout the western United States.

 EMWD’s recycled water helps provide a cost-effective water supply for our agricultural growers, including a number of dairies.  Through our recycled water agricultural pricing structure, EMWD is able to provide an incentive for our farmers to not pump groundwater, allowing us to conserve our high-quality groundwater resources for potable purposes.

EMWD is located in an area of Riverside County that is still a major agricultural hub, producing about $125 million in crops annually according to the Riverside County Farm Bureau. We are proud of the investments in system and water supply reliability that support approximately 10,400 acres of production agriculture with high-quality recycled water.