Emerging tech could help bring huge innovations for your community.  

If you’ve been keeping up with us, you’ve probably heard the name ‘OceanWell’ a lot lately. Here at LVMWD, we seek to diversify local water sources to reduce community reliance on imported water. This is why we are collaborating with OceanWell, a private tech company introducing a scalable and environmentally friendly desalination method to the world.   

Pilot Project 

In March 2025, we launched the pilot for this collaboration here at the Las Virgenes Reservoir. While our end goal is to provide a new supply of water through ocean desalination, this freshwater pilot played a crucial step in evaluating technological performance, reliability, and longevity, before we advance to deployment in the ocean for further testing. Our results validated these factors, producing over 150,000 gallons of water that was 10x purer than drinking standards, all with a 93% maintained operation time. Energy use was also observed, concluding that we have the potential to save up to 40% of energy compared to conventional desalination techniques.  

Our pilot was also made possible with the help of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD). MWD’s Future Supply Actions Funding Program focuses on funding research for new local water supply technologies, aligning with the interests of agencies like LVMWD. Additional partners involved with the study include Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Calleguas Municipal Water District, LA County District 29, Burbank Department of Water and Power, Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District and the Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency.

What Does This Mean? 

These results could be huge for water dependability – not just in this region but throughout Southern California. This partnership has the potential to help address the ongoing need for local water supplies for the Las Virgenes community by producing up to 15% of our drinking water supply. With this initiative, we continue to emphasize our dedication to innovation and reliability in pursuing all pathways to a sustainable water supply for the region and beyond.  

LVMWD is working to ensure that we will be prepared with reliable drinking water, no matter the weather. Of course, we shouldn’t stop water conservation and recycling efforts, but this is a potential long-term approach to reducing dependence on imported water and adding a brand-new source of drinking water for California. This is a big deal, and we’re making investments in our future, our environment, and you – our community.