Monterey Peninsula Water Management District

What Monterey Peninsula Water Management District does

Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (MPWMD) is a California special district formed on June 6, 1978 under West's California Water Code, Appendix Chapters 118-1 to 118-901. It functions as the regional water management authority for the Monterey Peninsula, serving approximately 114,000 residents across Carmel-by-the-Sea, Del Rey Oaks, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Seaside, Sand City, the Monterey Peninsula Airport District, and portions of unincorporated Monterey County, including Pebble Beach, Carmel Highlands, Carmel Valley, Monterra Ranch, Laguna Seca, Hidden Hills, and Pasadera. Its mandate is to sustainably manage the 255-square-mile Carmel River Basin, augment water supply, promote conservation, advance water reuse and reclamation, and protect environmental resources.

The District operates an integrated portfolio of water supply, regulatory, and environmental programs. Core supply infrastructure includes the Pure Water Monterey advanced water recycling project (jointly developed with Monterey One Water and Marina Coast Water District, using ozone pre-treatment, membrane filtration, reverse osmosis, and UV/advanced oxidation; the October 2025 expansion now supplies 60% of the Peninsula's drinking water), the Aquifer Storage and Recovery project (four operational ASR wells in the Seaside Groundwater Basin with 1,300 AFY average yield and 3,677 acre-feet in storage), Sand City Desalination (300 AFY reverse osmosis facility), the CAWD/PBCSD Reclamation Project (recycled water for seven Pebble Beach golf courses), and Carmel River management. Regulatory services include water distribution system permits, new connection capacity fees, water waste enforcement, and the multi-stage District Conservation and Rationing Plan. Environmental programs include the Steelhead Rescue and Rearing Program (nearly 500,000 steelhead rescued since 1989) and over 30 acres of riparian habitat restoration along the Carmel River.

MPWMD is funded through a hybrid public revenue model: property tax revenues, the Water Supply Charge (imposed in 2012, collected on property tax bills), user fees and water capacity charges for new connections, permit fees, and state and federal grants and project reimbursements — including approximately $80 million secured for Pure Water Monterey. Water is not retailed directly to end customers; instead, the District allocates supply and regulates California American Water, the primary retail utility. Governance is through a seven-member Board of Directors (five elected from divisions, one Monterey County BOS representative, one mayoral representative). Recent strategic priorities include completing the Pure Water Monterey Expansion (October 2025), petitioning to modify the State Water Board's Cease and Desist Order to enable new connections (October 2025), and continuing the eminent domain pursuit of Cal-Am's Monterey Water System initiated in December 2023 following voter approval of Measure J in 2018.

Name

Monterey Peninsula Water Management District

Legal name

Monterey Peninsula Water Management District

Website

https://mpwmd.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Monterey Peninsula Water Management District is a California special district formed in 1978 that regulates, allocates, and augments water supply for approximately 114,000 residents across the Monterey Peninsula through water recycling (Pure Water Monterey), aquifer storage and recovery, desalination, permitting, and Carmel River environmental stewardship programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Monterey

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Property Tax Revenue: Property tax revenues from properties within District boundaries served by California American Water main system
2. Water Supply Charge: Annual charge imposed in 2012 to fund water supply related activities, collected on property tax bills
3. User Fees and Water Capacity Charges: Fees for water distribution system permits, capacity fees for new connections, and ongoing user fees
4. Permit Fees: Fees for water permits, river work permits, and various regulatory approvals
5. Grants and Project Reimbursements: State and federal grants for water supply projects and infrastructure

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (MPWMD) is a California special district that manages and augments water supply for approximately 114,000 residents across the Monterey Peninsula. It operates an integrated water portfolio including Pure Water Monterey advanced recycling, Aquifer Storage & Recovery (ASR), and Sand City Desalination, while regulating water permits, enforcing conservation and rationing rules, and administering environmental stewardship programs for the Carmel River and steelhead habitat.

Product overview

The Monterey Peninsula Water Management District is a government water management agency rather than a commercial product company. Its offerings consist of integrated water resource management programs and services including Pure Water Monterey (advanced water recycling providing 60% of Peninsula water), Aquifer Storage & Recovery (ASR) for storing winter rainwater, water conservation and rebate programs, water permitting services, and environmental stewardship programs including Carmel River management and steelhead rescue. The District serves 114,000 people across the Monterey Peninsula through these coordinated programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pure Water Monterey Advanced water recycling project that purifies wastewater through ozone pre-treatment, membrane filtration, reverse osmosis, and UV/advanced oxidation, injecting purified water into the Seaside Groundwater Basin for potable use. Jointly developed with Monterey One Water and Marina Coast Water District. Now supplies 60% of Monterey Peninsula drinking water.
• Aquifer Storage & Recovery (ASR) Captures excess Carmel River winter flows and injects them into the Seaside Groundwater Basin for later extraction as drinking water. Four operational wells with average yield of 1,300 acre-feet per year and capacity to inject up to 29 acre-feet per day.
• Sand City Desalination 300 acre-feet per year brackish water reverse osmosis desalination facility with 4 feed wells, concentrate disposal well, and freshwater recharge capabilities. Operated in partnership with California American Water.
• Water Permit Processing Regulatory permit services for water distribution systems, new connections, meter installations, modifications to existing water services, and water credits. Serves property owners and developers within the District.
• Water Conservation & Rebates Conservation programs including residential and commercial rebates for high-efficiency appliances, toilets, dishwashers, clothes washers, smart toilet leak detectors, graywater irrigation systems, synthetic turf installation, free water-saving devices, and water waste rules.
• Water Conservation & Rationing Plan Multi-stage conservation and rationing plan (Regulation XV) with progressive stages from water waste prohibitions through voluntary reduction, conservation rates, and water rationing for District water users.
• Steelhead Rescue & Rearing Program Rescues juvenile steelhead from drying portions of the Carmel River and rears them at the Sleepy Hollow Steelhead Rearing Facility until habitat conditions improve. Since 1989, nearly 500,000 steelhead have been rescued.
• Carmel River Management Activities to protect and restore the Carmel River riparian corridor, including river work permits, erosion prevention, vegetation maintenance, and habitat restoration projects along the river and tributaries.
• Seaside Groundwater Basin Monitoring Monitoring program for the Seaside Groundwater Basin, which serves approximately 100,000 residents, 5,100 businesses, and 4.5 million visitors annually, with focus on early detection of seawater intrusion.

Quantifiable outcome

• 495 Million Gallons of rainwater stored in 2024 - enough to serve 8,000 homes for a year
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Monterey One Water (M1W)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025Joint development of Pure Water Monterey project with Monterey One Water providing wastewater feed stock. M1W contributed to securing $80 million in state and federal grants. The expansion completed in October 2025 now provides 60% of Peninsula drinking water.
• Marina Coast Water DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025Joint developer of Pure Water Monterey Expansion project. Participated in development of advanced water recycling facility on former Fort Ord property.
• State Water Resources Control BoardcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Regulatory oversight relationship; MPWMD submitted application in October 2025 to modify Cease and Desist Order. Secured low-interest loans from SWRCB for Pure Water Monterey.
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024EPA provided low-interest loans for Pure Water Monterey project as part of $80 million in secured state and federal grants.
• Various Local Agencies (City of Pacific Grove, City of Seaside, City of Monterey, etc.)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013Local Water Project Grant Program established 2013 to encourage local agencies to apply for grant funding for water supply projects. Awards include $100,000 to City of Pacific Grove, $106,900 to City of Seaside, $25,000 to Monterey Peninsula College.
• California American Water (Cal-Am)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2001Partnership on Aquifer Storage and Recovery project - MPWMD and Cal-Am jointly operate ASR wells that inject and extract water. Cal-Am manages desalination facility lease. Ongoing coordination for Pure Water Monterey water distribution.
• Carmel Area Wastewater District (CAWD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperative effort on CAWD/PBCSD Reclamation Project - CAWD provides secondary effluent for tertiary treatment and recycled water distribution to Pebble Beach golf courses.
• Pebble Beach Company (PBC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrivate partner in CAWD/PBCSD Reclamation Project. Recipient of $80,000 Local Water Project Grant in 2015 for recycled water infrastructure.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• East Bay Municipal Utility District: Large integrated urban water utility providing treated water, wastewater service, and conservation programs. Comparable in operating an integrated supply-and-conservation model, but on a much larger customer base and asset footprint than MPWMD.
• Santa Clara Valley Water District: California's largest water district by area, combining wholesale supply, groundwater management, recycled water, and conservation programs. Operates a similarly integrated supply-and-conservation portfolio but at materially larger scale.
• San Diego County Water Authority: Wholesale water agency importing and treating supply for San Diego County, with a long-running interest in seawater desalination and recycled water projects. Comparable strategic focus on supply diversification under California drought conditions, but at far greater scale.
• California American Water: The regulated investor-owned utility that physically distributes MPWMD's allocated water to end customers on the Monterey Peninsula and is the named target of the District's Measure J eminent domain action. Much larger in scale, but its California operations directly overlap MPWMD's service territory.
• Orange County Water District: Manages the Orange County Groundwater Replenishment System, the largest indirect potable reuse facility in the world. Directly analogous technology to Pure Water Monterey and the most credible large-scale benchmark for advanced water recycling economics.

Direct peers

• Monterey One Water: Regional wastewater treatment agency and joint developer of Pure Water Monterey. Provides the wastewater feedstock that MPWMD's flagship recycling project depends on and operates at comparable scale within the same service area.
• Marina Coast Water District: Co-developer of the Pure Water Monterey Expansion and adjacent coastal California water district of comparable scale. Operates its own groundwater, recycled water, and conservation programs serving a similar mix of residential and institutional customers in Monterey County.
• Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency: Nearby groundwater-management agency on California's central coast with a comparable mission of regulating and augmenting aquifer supply, including recycled water projects and seawater-intrusion mitigation. Most directly comparable in regulatory remit and scale.
• Soquel Creek Water District: Small coastal California district focused on groundwater overdraft, seawater intrusion prevention, and recycled water development. Closely analogous to MPWMD in size, supply portfolio philosophy, and groundwater-reliant customer base.
• Carmel Area Wastewater District (CAWD): Local wastewater partner in the CAWD/PBCSD Reclamation Project that distributes recycled water to Pebble Beach golf courses. Comparable in scale, geography, and recycled-water focus to MPWMD's operations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mryh2odistrict
• Facebookfacebook.com/MPWMD
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/monterey-peninsula-water-management-district

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Monterey Peninsula Water Management District