Capacity fees are not new. However, from time to time it is necessary to update them in order to recover equitable water and sanitation system capital costs from new customers. More information can be found at the District's Capacity Fee page.

An ERU stands for "Equivalent Residential Unit". Equivalent residential units – or ERU’s – relate types of commercial and public facilities to the average usage of a single-family residence. When you apply for a sewer service connection with LVMWD, we calculate how many "ERU’s" your project is equivalent to (each 25 fixture unites equals one ERU) to determine your fee. Under our current fee structure, a project that is determined to be equal to 2.5 ERU’s would pay connection fees for 3 ERU’s (3 X Current Capacity Fee - No proration of connection fee). A minimum of one ERU will be charged with a minimum proration of 1/5 of an ERU for any additional ERUs. Residential units are charged one ERU only with no proration.

The fees were last updated in July 2019. More information on Capacity Fees can be found by visiting the Capacity Fee webpage.

BeWaterWise provides a list of local nurseries that can be found by visiting  their Local Nursies directory.

Where to Buy Native & California Friendly Plants, provided by bewaterwise.com

Yes. We want to make sure every customer has a fair water budget that provides enough water to meet their actual needs, based on the established 55 gallons per permanent resident per day. Customers can request a change in their water budget by filling out the electronic form found on our Water Budget Adjustment Request webpage. Adjustments to residents' impact both your indoor water budget as well as your sanitation charges.  Additions or subtractions to your irrigated area will impact your outdoor budget.

Rebates for both residential and commercial customers for water saving devices as well as landscape transformations are available to customers.  More information on these programs can be found by visiting the Rebates webpage.

If you use an automatic bowl-cleaning device, remove it. When all coloring is gone, you're ready for the next step.  At least five minutes after the last flush cycle, carefully remove the toilet tank cover. Gently add four to five drops of blue, green, or red food coloring into the tank (not the bowl). DO NOT FLUSH. Wait 10 to 15 minutes. If you find color in the bowl, there's a leak.

Common causes of toilet leaks include: 
    the flapper valve or valve seat has deteriorated, 
    the flushing arm or lift chain is not working properly, 
    the tank water level is too high and spills into the overflow, 
    the float rod, ballcock or float ball may be corroded.

You can do actual measurements or go to the LA County Department of Regional Planning website and follow these instructions:

1. Scroll down and click "Accept Terms & Launch Application."
2. In the Search bar, type your address with the city or zip code.
3. After your property is displayed, hover over the “Base Maps” button and check the “LA County Aerial ‘11” box.
4. Click on the orange box “I Want To…” and then select “Measure something." A “Draw & Measure” window will appear on the left side of your screen.
5. Follow the instructions. You can draw various shapes like circles, rectangles, polygons or freehand lines to trace the irrigated areas, including swimming pools, at your property. The area measurement will display in the middle of the shape.
6. Add up all of the areas.

Because the wasteful water use penalties are administrative fines for violation of the law, the use of revenue generated from these fines is not restricted. The District’s budget and rates do not depend on revenue generated from the fines for its operations, and as such, the Board may utilize these funds for any one-time use.

Examples include:

• Rebuilding the District’s Potable Water Enterprise reserves at a faster pace than provided for based on the District's current rates.
• Funding a one-time construction project that would otherwise be deferred. Paying down the District's California Public Employees Retirement System
  (CalPERS) unfunded pension liability on a one-time basis.
• Making a one-time contribution to the District’s Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) trust account.
• Funding a one-time water conservation program.
• Funding any other one-time use.
• Keeping the revenue in the fund balance for an unspecified future one-time use.

For leaks on your property that are on your side of the water meter, you should contact a professional plumber. The water district does not give recommendations or referrals.

To be eligible for a leak adjustment, customers must be registered with the WaterSmart portal. To view details of the District's leak adjustment policy, visit the Leak Adjustment webpage.

Read these instructions from U.S. EPA Emergency Disinfection of Drinking Water.

Here are some great tips to help you be prepared when an emergency strikes.

First, if you have not already registered your account with the WaterSmart portal.  The WaterSmart portal will be able to shed light on past usage and possibly show when a leak or other malfunction of the water system on your property occurred.  After reviewing the past usage, if customers still have questions or concerns, please email customer_service@lvmwd.com 

See How to Live Within My Water Budget (PDF), or click here for additional information. 

You can also sign up to receive eNotifications about water budgets and other topics.

Read these instructions from U.S. EPA Emergency Disinfection of Drinking Water.

Here are some great tips to help you be prepared when an emergency strikes.

BeWaterWise provides a list of local nurseries that can be found by visiting  their Local Nursies directory.

Where to Buy Native & California Friendly Plants, provided by bewaterwise.com

BeWaterWise provides a list of local nurseries that can be found by visiting  their Local Nursies directory.

Where to Buy Native & California Friendly Plants, provided by bewaterwise.com

If you use an automatic bowl-cleaning device, remove it. When all coloring is gone, you're ready for the next step.  At least five minutes after the last flush cycle, carefully remove the toilet tank cover. Gently add four to five drops of blue, green, or red food coloring into the tank (not the bowl). DO NOT FLUSH. Wait 10 to 15 minutes. If you find color in the bowl, there's a leak.

Common causes of toilet leaks include: 
    the flapper valve or valve seat has deteriorated, 
    the flushing arm or lift chain is not working properly, 
    the tank water level is too high and spills into the overflow, 
    the float rod, ballcock or float ball may be corroded.

For leaks on your property that are on your side of the water meter, you should contact a professional plumber. The water district does not give recommendations or referrals.

To be eligible for a leak adjustment, customers must be registered with the WaterSmart portal. To view details of the District's leak adjustment policy, visit the Leak Adjustment webpage.

Additional information can be mailed to the purchasing or provided during a scheduled sales appointment.

Las Virgenes Municipal Water District 
Attn: Purchasing 
4232 Las Virgenes Road 
Calabasas, CA 91302 

Contact purchasing by phone or e-mail. After evaluating the need an appointment may be scheduled.

(818) 251-2115 phone 
(818) 251-2116 fax 
gbullock@lvmwd.com

The demonstration facility was completed and began operating in fall 2020. The Joint Powers Authority (JPA) offers regularly scheduled tours for the general public. Register for a tour by visiting the Demonstration Facility webpage.

The environmental review has been completed and was accepted by the JPA board in December of 2022.  Final design is anticipated to begin in 2023 and construction is anticipated to start in 2025. 

The cost for building the demonstration facility was about $4 million, which included a demonstration garden/landscape component. For the full-scale plant including pipelines and other project costs, the latest estimate is around $364 million.    

Just about. The water we use today has been reused over and over again by Mother Nature. Even glacial water was used by the dinosaurs. Water reuse happens daily on rivers, streams and all other bodies of water. If you live in a community downstream of another, chances are you are reusing water from the community upstream. This phenomenon has been called 'de facto' or unacknowledged potable reuse. In fact, did you know that the imported water we receive from the State Water Project (SWP) includes treated wastewater from communities, like the City of Sacramento, that discharge to the river systems that supply the SWP? If this surprises you, remember that there is quite a bit of mixing and blending with natural runoff that feeds these rivers. The wastewater is treated before being discharged and then treated again at water treatment plants before being served to customers. The fact is, there is no 'new' water, it has all been recycled since the beginning of time.

No. There is an abundance of research and peer reviewed studies that have proven the efficacy of the multi-barrier approach to purifying recycled water.  Recently, an article published in Nature Magazine confirms the safety of purified recycled water and asserts that "Potable reuse, the process of treating wastewater to drinkable standards, offers a reliable and sustainable solution to cities and regions facing shortages of clean water," such as the Las Virgenes-Conejo region.  The National Research Council (NRC), an arm of the National Academy of Sciences, published a 2012 study (www.nap.edu/catalog/13303/water-reuse-potential-for-expanding-the-nations-water-supply-through) that closely examined potable water reuse. The study concluded that the safety of advanced treatment systems for potable water reuse and the equal or greater quality water from such systems compared to waters across the United States.

Constituents of emerging concern (CECs) were closely monitored prior to a proposed expansion of the facility. Test results showed that the advanced treatment either completely removed CECs or removed them to levels that could not be detected (Read this report from Orange County’s Groundwater Replenishment System: Water Quality Monitoring and Facility Expansion in the Face of Changing Regulations).

The JPA’s proposed advanced treatment process will also undergo extensive testing at a demonstration scale. We anticipate that it too will remove hormones, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products from the Tapia Water Reclamation Facility effluent to sub-nanogram (ng) per liter levels or to levels that are not detectable.     

At these low levels, expert research teams and public health regulators have documented the safety of the water supply, demonstrating that the concentrations of such trace chemicals, if detectable, are orders of magnitude lower than a biological response or health impact level. As one example, ibuprofen (e.g., Advil) can be found in wastewater at over 2,000 ng/Liter (0.002 milligrams/Liter or mg/L). Water purification technologies, such as those to be tested by the JPA as part of the Demonstration Project, reduce ibuprofen to less than 1 ng/L (99.95% removal). To put this into perspective, knowing that one dose of ibuprofen is 800 milligrams, a person would need to ingest 800 million liters of advanced purified water to receive a full dose of ibuprofen – the equivalent of having to drink 320 Olympic-size swimming pools all at once.  Since the average person needs about 2 liters of water per day, it would take one person more than a million years to drink that amount of water. 

Not only will we be able to meet the new discharge limitations to Malibu Creek (by virtually eliminating discharges from the Tapia Water Reclamation Facility) but we will have less dependence on importing water by diversifying our water supply portfolio for customers and businesses. Upon completion of the full-scale project, we will need about 20% less imported water, which will be replaced by the purified recycled water. Less dependence on the State Water Project (SWP) means greater reliability by assuring the tap in your home will always deliver. Earthquakes, which can damage the California Aqueduct and cut off supplies to Southern California, will be of lesser concern because the Purified Recycled Water will effectively extend our local storage and supply capabilities and give us the ability to sustain cut-offs from the SWP for a longer period of time.

Potable water is a term used to describe drinking water. It is the water that flows from your tap that is used for drinking, cooking, cleaning, and bathing. Potable water is clean, healthy, and safe. Potable Reuse is a term used by water professionals and scientists that refers to water that has been previously used but is highly purified through an advanced treatment process to meet or exceed federal and state drinking water standards. This highly purified water can be reused for human consumption. After it is purified, the reused water blends with other supplies and is held in a human-made or natural storage location, like Las Virgenes Reservoir, before being treated one last time and delivered through a pipeline distribution network for consumption. Potable reuse and purified recycled water are both terms interchangeably used to describe high-quality sources of drinking water. 

The timeline for having the Advanced Water Treatment Plant up and operational is by the year 2030. While this seems like it is a long way off, it's just around the corner as far as large scale public works projects go and there is much work to be done. This includes operation and testing of the demonstration facility, educating our customers, pursuing grants and low-interest loans, environmental impact reviews, permitting, preliminary and final design efforts, competitively bidding various components of the project, acquiring rights-of-way and license agreements, building the project, facility start-up and testing and, finally, operation. While it may be possible to complete these efforts sooner, we want to make sure the project is done right, rather than done quickly.

The multi-barrier water purification process has been successfully used at the Orange County Groundwater Replenishment System since 2008 and before that at Water Factory 21. Orange County now produces 100 million gallons of purified recycled water per day – enough water to supply over 850,000 residents.  To date, they have produced over 278 billion gallons of pure drinking water and counting.  Other locations with long term water purification programs include Singapore; Perth, Australia; Fairfax County, Virginia; El Paso, Texas; Scottsdale, Arizona; Windhoek, Namibia; Wulpen, Belgium; Gwinnett County, Georgia; West Basin Municipal Water District, El Segundo, CA; Aurora, Colorado; and others. Many places are exploring the use of advanced water purification to determine if it fits their local needs. To see who in the State of California is currently providing or proposing to provide purified recycled water, visit: https://watereuse.org/sections/watereuse-california/potable-reuse-map-of-california/

This process is also used by astronauts on the International Space Station. It is more cost effective to recycle water in space than to send replacement water. Every single pound of material delivered to the International Space Station costs about $10,000. If the average astronaut needs about a half-gallon of water a day to survive, that would cost a little over $41,000 a day per astronaut to deliver new water rather than recycle it. So reusing that water (potable reuse) is what you might call “mission critical.”

There are three main reasons why the Las Virgenes-Triunfo JPA built the demonstration facility first.

The first reason is to test the equipment that will be used in the full-scale Advanced Water Treatment Plant. This allows operators to learn to become experts using the technology to optimize the treatment process, and verify which product(s) from specific equipment manufacturers will provide the most cost-effective and efficient removal method. The Joint Powers Authority (JPA) will also be able to test emerging technologies that could help streamline treatment processes such 'artificial intelligence' systems. The data and water quality test results collected from the demonstration project will provide assurances to the State of California Division of Drinking Water that our full-scale plant will consistently supply safe drinking water to the public when it goes online in 2030. We cannot rely on the test results from other advanced water treatment demonstration projects because the components in wastewater vary from place to place depending on the original source of the water, weather, types of industry, etc., which can impact the performance of the treatment equipment.

The second function of running our demonstration facility is to give our water treatment operators an opportunity to train in the proper operation and maintenance of the equipment that will be used. Training is critical because the water treatment plant operators ensure that the equipment runs efficiently and produces purified recycled water that will meet or exceed all State and Federal requirements for drinking water.

The final reason for our demonstration facility is to educate our customers about purified recycled water, its importance to our region, and how we are going to do it. The facility is available for tours and participants are able to taste the purified recycled water. Prior to investing the funds for building a full-scale plant, it is important that the community is comfortable and we have strong public support the project. Individuals that are skeptical will be afforded the opportunity to become better informed.

First, the Joint Powers Authority (JPA) will no longer be permitted to discharge recycled water to Malibu Creek as it has since the late 1950s. Regulations related to discharging treated wastewater to creeks and rivers has become increasingly stringent and water utility providers, including the JPA, will be required to clean the recycled water to such an extent that it will exceed current drinking water standards. The capital investment and additional ongoing operational costs to do this would cost more than the planned Pure Water Project Las Virgenes – Triunfo (PWP). Customers would not receive any benefits from the money spent to upgrade the treatment technology at Tapia, needed to achieve the new strict discharge regulations. The highly-treated water would flow into Malibu Creek and lost to the ocean.  Since the requirement is to treat water to such a high standard, it makes sense to beneficially reuse that water to create a locally sourced water supply.

Second, the JPA currently relies 100% on water imported from Northern California through the State Water Project (SWP). In times of minimal rainfall and below average snowpack in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, water supplies from the SWP become strained, reservoir levels drop, and allocations to agencies that rely on this water are cut. During the last drought emergency that ended in 2016, the JPA was required to reduce consumption by a staggering 36 percent compared to what was used in 2013. Considering current drought conditions, this project will allow us to eventually generate up to 5,000 acre-feet of pure water annually (one acre-foot is equivalent to a football field with one-foot of water in depth) or about 1.6 billion gallons. By not relying entirely on the SWP, the PWP provides an additional and reliable source of water for our region.

See the additional technical reports and summaries in our digital media library at ourpureh2o.com.

Ocean or seawater desalination is not a viable option for our service area for several reasons. The desalination of ocean water will not address the limitations on discharges of treated wastewater from the Tapia Water Reclamation Facility to Malibu Creek. Also, creating drinking water from saltwater comes at a higher price. The biggest cost is the amount of energy used in the purification process. It requires significant energy to remove salt from ocean water, and much less to purify wastewater. While purified recycled water is anticipated to cost about $1,600 to produce an acre-foot of water, desalination can easily cost in excess of $2,500 per acre-foot, depending on the ultimate size of the full-scale treatment plant. Permitting and gaining acceptance from governmental agencies and environmental groups is also more challenging with seawater desalination plants. This is mainly because of environmental impacts associated with energy requirements and the construction and operation of a seawater intake system that could impact aquatic life. It would also be very challenging to locate a desalination facility on land outside of the District's jurisdiction to the south, in the City of Malibu. Desalination is regarded as a 'last option' when considering developing new water supplies. All other options would need to be exhausted before it could be deemed feasible.

Rebates for both residential and commercial customers for water saving devices as well as landscape transformations are available to customers.  More information on these programs can be found by visiting the Rebates webpage.

Where to Buy Native & California Friendly Plants, provided by bewaterwise.com

• Drinking 
• Cooking or any other kitchen use
• Bathing or showering
• Filling swimming pools or spas
• Household plumbing system use

1. Collection and storage containers are required to have a "Recycled Water: Do Not Drink" sticker placed on them. The stickers will be made available to participants at the Recycled Water Fill Station (3700 Las Virgenes Rd, Calabasas) Saturdays 8 a.m. - 1 p.m.

2. Recycled water shall not be placed in a storage container that is connected to the plumbed landscape irrigation system or the onsite drinking water supply.

3. Recycled water shall not be discharged to the street gutter or storm drain system. If you have leftover recycled water and want to dispose of it, either discharge it to a landscaped area or to the sanitary sewer system via an onsite cleanout.

4. Recycled water shall not be used for irrigation purposes within 50 feet of a water supply well.

5. Recycled water shall not be pumped into a plumbed irrigation system. SWRCB Title 22 regulations require special reports and inspections from State regulators before a recycled water connection to a residential plumbing system can be allowed. This program does not allow for recycled water to be connected to a residential plumbing system.

6. After working with recycled water, remember to apply hand sanitizer or wash hands with soap and domestic drinking water, especially before eating or any other activity where your hands may come in contact with your mouth.

7. DO NOT DRINK recycled water or use it for food preparation.

8. DO NOT PLAY with recycled water (e.g. water toys, etc).

9. Take precautions to avoid contact with food while using recycled water.

10. Wash vegetables with domestic drinking water prior to eating or cooking (the majority of the vegetables in the grocery stores are irrigated with recycled water).

Use the link below for a short list of retailers offering containers of various sizes. There may be other styles and sizes available at other retail outlets.

Before purchasing your container(s), remember water weighs 8.3 pounds per gallon. Do not exceed your vehicle's load capacity or your ability to move the container(s).

The Las Virgenes – Triunfo Joint Powers Authority does not endorse or warrant the vendors or products listed below.

Where can I purchase recycled water containers?

Yes. We want to make sure every customer has a fair water budget that provides enough water to meet their actual needs, based on the established 55 gallons per permanent resident per day. Customers can request a change in their water budget by filling out the electronic form found on our Water Budget Adjustment Request webpage. Adjustments to residents' impact both your indoor water budget as well as your sanitation charges.  Additions or subtractions to your irrigated area will impact your outdoor budget.

You can do actual measurements or go to the LA County Department of Regional Planning website and follow these instructions:

1. Scroll down and click "Accept Terms & Launch Application."
2. In the Search bar, type your address with the city or zip code.
3. After your property is displayed, hover over the “Base Maps” button and check the “LA County Aerial ‘11” box.
4. Click on the orange box “I Want To…” and then select “Measure something." A “Draw & Measure” window will appear on the left side of your screen.
5. Follow the instructions. You can draw various shapes like circles, rectangles, polygons or freehand lines to trace the irrigated areas, including swimming pools, at your property. The area measurement will display in the middle of the shape.
6. Add up all of the areas.

Because the wasteful water use penalties are administrative fines for violation of the law, the use of revenue generated from these fines is not restricted. The District’s budget and rates do not depend on revenue generated from the fines for its operations, and as such, the Board may utilize these funds for any one-time use.

Examples include:

• Rebuilding the District’s Potable Water Enterprise reserves at a faster pace than provided for based on the District's current rates.
• Funding a one-time construction project that would otherwise be deferred. Paying down the District's California Public Employees Retirement System
  (CalPERS) unfunded pension liability on a one-time basis.
• Making a one-time contribution to the District’s Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) trust account.
• Funding a one-time water conservation program.
• Funding any other one-time use.
• Keeping the revenue in the fund balance for an unspecified future one-time use.

See How to Live Within My Water Budget (PDF), or click here for additional information. 

You can also sign up to receive eNotifications about water budgets and other topics.

Yes. Per the state mandate after the Flint, Michigan incident all public schools in California required to be tested for lead and copper. The District has completed testing for lead and copper for schools that are in the District's service area.  Test results show that no school had levels exceeding the standards established by the Environmental Protection Agency.  Learn more about the Program and the see the results.

During the reporting year of 2021, the hardness of the water in this service area was an average of 127 mg/L, which is considered moderately hard.

To learn more about your water quality, read the most recent Annual Water Quality Report.

Read these instructions from U.S. EPA Emergency Disinfection of Drinking Water.

Here are some great tips to help you be prepared when an emergency strikes.

If water running from your tap looks, smells or tastes unusual, call Customer Service staff at (818) 251-2200. They will help you determine the cause of the change and may send a technician for on-site investigation if the cause appears to be in our water system.

Other sources of information about water quality include:

    Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) 
    (800) CALL-MWD

    California Department of Health Services 
    (916) 323-6111 

    US Environmental Protection Agency 
    (EPA) (800) 426-4791