Signal Hill Approves Deal to Buy Cheaper Water From Long Beach

Public Works estimates the city will save about $150,000 a year over Metropolitan Water District water once a state permit comes through.

An emergency water hookup at Brayton Avenue and Wardlow Road in Long Beach is set to become a new source of Signal Hill's drinking water. The Signal Hill City Council voted unanimously Oct. 13 to buy water from Long Beach Utilities, the Signal Tribune reported Saturday. Mayor Tina Hansen said the deal had been in talks for years.

Price is a big part of it. Public Works estimates the city will save about $150,000 a year compared with buying from the Metropolitan Water District, the Signal Tribune reported. That regional supplier isn't the city's main source: about 90% of Signal Hill's water comes from its own groundwater wells, according to the city's website, and the district covers the rest.

The Long Beach water will go into Gundry Reservoir, which holds 5 million gallons and was built in 1929. Last year the city hired a contractor for $6.7 million to give it its first full rehab, and while the reservoir was down, the city planned to fill the gap with imported water, the Signal Tribune reported.

The repairs aren't finished. Signal Hill is still fixing up its wells and reservoirs, a new well, No. 10, is still under construction, and Public Works expects to take wells offline now and then for inspections and upkeep. Those wells already sit in north Long Beach, the city says. Now Signal Hill will be buying its neighbor's water, too.

Before any water flows, the State Water Resources Control Board has to approve a permit, the city has to run a water sample test, and engineers have to figure out how to treat the incoming water so it blends with what's already in Gundry. Public Works Director Gabino Luna expects the first purchases in the spring.

Source: sigtrib.com, retrieved October 26, 2026. Other sources: cityofsignalhill.org, sigtrib.com (2).