UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation

Community water systems (CWS) are essential to providing water to all Californians but face mounting challenges from climate change, aging infrastructure, and fragmented governance—especially among smaller, under-resourced systems. This report and the accompanying 2025 Southern California Community Water Systems Mapping Tool assess 663 CWS across six counties, expanding upon UCLA’s prior analyses of Los Angeles County. Using state regulatory data and geospatial analysis, the study assesses system performance in terms of water quality, affordability, accessibility, and governance. Key findings reveal highly varied conditions across the counties, as well as persistent disparities in system size and capacity across the region — including chronic water quality violations in Kern County and rising rates that outpace inflation over the last decade in Los Angeles. The report and accompanying mapping tool underscore the need for sustained investment, rate structure reform, and stronger oversight to ensure better safe, clean, and affordable water access across Southern California.