Post Date: 07/08/2024 8:30 AM

Long time Westlake Village residents are familiar with our annual summertime temporary utilization of Las Virgenes Reservoir water and the corresponding change in smell and/or taste that occurs.  The water in Las Virgenes Reservoir is either runoff from rains in the winter, or treated drinking water purchased through the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) and is further treated at the Westlake Filtration Plant before being distributed to our customers.  The Westlake Filtration Plant uses a different treatment method that works best for the characteristics of our reservoir water and some customers close to the plant may notice this change, most often a more pronounced chlorine smell.  Our highly trained and certified treatment staff constantly monitor the treatment process.  The water being served meets or exceeds all water quality standards, as all the water served by LVMWD does.

Using the reservoir in the summer allows for LVMWD to both limit our purchases of imported water during the peak demand season of summer while creating room in the reservoir to capture as much natural rainfall as we can in the rainy season.  Having this room in our reservoir resulted in capturing over 900-acre feet of water this spring.  That water would have cost the District and our customers 1.2 million dollars to purchase!  Additionally, Las Virgenes Reservoir is ready as an emergency supply of drinking water for our customers that can last six months.

LVMWD will be operating the Westlake Filtration Plant and Las Virgenes Reservoir from now until the end of September.

For more information on LVMWD water quality please review the latest Consumer Confidence/Water Quality Report at LVMWD.com/WQR2024 and OurLVTap.com