CONTENT EXPIRES: December 31, 2027 

After a decades-long setback caused by the infamous "toilet to tap" slogan halted the City of Los Angeles's potable recycling program, LA turned the situation around. By applying lessons learned from other DB projects and embracing the PDB model, the city successfully executed a strategic, multi-agency reuse project in record time, achieving much more within the budget. Two separate City agencies, LASAN and LADWP, had to work together to budget, scope, procure and execute a $740M recycle program. Despite the significant challenges and the need for all parties to embrace risk and adopt entirely new approaches, the team managed to advance to the GMP within 19 months - a process that typically takes over three years. This achievement highlights the extraordinary effort and collaboration required from everyone involved. The specific benefits to the project included: 1. increased treatment capacity from 19 to 30 mgd, 2. unplanned piloting and water quality analysis for a more resilient design, 3. numerous architectural upgrades, transforming the building into a showcase facility, 4. Six months of comprehensive operations support for transitional operator training. An experienced team, lead with a culture of trust, were able to dramatically leverage PDB and assume more risk for enhanced results.