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lived as the closest house on your block to the 710 freeway. >> right here, yeah. i remember one time, i was maybe 7, 8. we were planting tomatoes. and a tire chunk popped over and hit me in the back. >> in the yard while you were planting tomatoes? >> right here over this wall, yeah. because it's our backyard. and it hit me. i remember picking it up, it was super hot. my dad was like, don't touch it. so yes, tire pops all the time. honking, house shaking. >> it shows that it's not as simple as people from the outside might think. you guys live and depend on the port for your job but at the same time -- >> it's like a double edged sword for sure. >> and so why do you say that? >> the money that's being made, the money that's being spent, paid to longshoremen. but also my health is suffering. >> people who live by the 710
out, is this. and when i say "this," i mean this. there's no tap in l.a. discharging recycled sewage yet. but the city knows it has to do something big and bold because its current sources of water are literally drying up. when it comes to infrastructure in the united states, there are few projects that are more important than what you could probably hear right now. this thing. this is what's known as the cascades at the los angeles aqua aqueduct. it was dedicated in 1913, famously by william mulholland. he said in a ceremony in these hills, "there it is, take it before they turn the crank and release all this water into the city of los angeles." come look at this. when you look down this way, all
>> you didn't do anything wrong. he just spit it out. >> he figured out how to get off of it. >> i have the hook, so he spit it out. >> the one that got away. in the rainy season, the l.a. river is fed by storm drains and snow melting in the mountains of the angeles crest above los angeles. in the long dry season, the main source of the l.a. river is the wastewater from the tillman reclamation plant in the san fernando valley. is it fair to say behind this door is the control hub for some pretty critical infrastructure? >> that's correct. this control room is a 24/7 operation. >> there's always someone here? >> there's always someone here. >> 800,000 residents are flushing their toilets, taking a shower, et cetera. that water, 35 millions of it, ends up here every day, all that have is recycled into lakes, eventually the l.a. river? >> you got it.
and how many dollars biden wanted to spend? >> tens of billions. >> all of this has to be done. >> so when you're saying, in terms of infrastructure and spending and fighting climate change, what that money is going to go towards are pipes that return activated sludge and things like that? >> that's right. >> once the water has been fully treated, it's ready for release. 12 hours ago, this water was being flushed down people's toilets and it made its way to the tillman treatment facility to be treated and recycled which is exactly what's happening here. it goes into the l.a. river, people kayak in it, go fly fishing in it. the majority of water in los angeles is treated by not recycled. and that's part of the problem. this is the water that started how many hours ago as somebody's toilet water? >> about a day. the entire process, about a day. >> so about a day ago, what i fleshed down my toilet has ended up with this. >> yes.
have electric cars. can you see yourself having an electric car? how come you don't have one already? >> we haven't done it yet. >> you said price, you said money. is that what you said? >> yes, sir. >> almost 45 bucks. >> two weeks ago it was $39. >> so prices may vary, as they say. not with an electric car. >> not as much. >> the american jobs plan also envisions retraining mechanics to service electric vehicles. that's a service that will only grow in demand as electric vehicles increase in number. this spring, i caught up with a family i've been reporting on over the years and visited their auto repair shop in the suburbs of l.a. president biden is saying that he's going to have a big bill about infrastructure. and they're going to fix bridges and roads and tunnels and create jobs. but one of the things they say they're going to do is put a lot of money into electric cars. is that a problem for you? >> yes. >> yes. >> i don't see a lot of electric cars getting fixed here. >> but you know, yeah, because
already doing it, like right here. >> that's taken a lot of big fish. there are some deeper holes here that we can work. >> you tell me, i'll follow you. between the 1940s and 2013, the los angeles river was officially not a river but a concrete flood control channel. but thanks to the persistence of environmental activists, it's once again legally a river. this man is famous for fly fishing in it. this is the fly in fly fishing. >> there you go. >> do it again? >> yep. you're a natural. >> this is amazing. this is the first time. another environmental miracle about the l.a. river is that there's any water in it at all after our winter rainy season. los angeles only averages 12 inches of rain a year. >> this section of the river, we have a treatment plant less than a mile away from here. that's water that's getting pumped in. >> during l.a.'s dry season, the
>> reporter: sorry to hear that. went through a divorce. doesn't have enough money. can i ask you a quick question. president wants everyone to have an electric car. can you see yourself having an electric car? >> you said price. you said money. is that what you said? >> yes, sir. >> reporter: almost 45 bucks. >> two weeks ago, it was $39. >> reporter: prices may vary, as they say. not with an electric car? >> not as much. >> reporter: the american jobs plan envisions retraining mechanics to service electric vehicles. that is a service will grow in demand as electric vehicles grow in number. this spring, i visited a family that has an auto repair shop in l.a. president biden says he's going to have a big bill about infrastructure and they're going to fix bridges and roads and tunnels and create jobs. one of the things they're going to do is put a lot of money into electric cars. is that a problem for you? >> yeah.
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whoa. what is that? that's toilet paper? toilet paper. as the waste water flows from the plant, it gets cleaner in each process. where we just came from, not clean at all. taking out toilet paper and other things like that. down here, not so clean. but cleaner. >> reporter: yeah. it doesn't smell good yet. >> reporter: no. as we move from this way out there, it gets cleaner and cleaner. >> that's right. >> reporter: at this point, this is the beginning of the february? >> beginning of february. >> reporter: not to be gross, but is that poop on the top of the water? >> it's the mixture of millions and millions of bacteria that are growing in there. one big culture. what we do here is normally, what happens in a natural environment. we just add the air and just
the u.v. light enhanced with the chlorine is going to destroy everything that might have gotten through the reverse system. >> reporter: if there's any virus, up inside the water -- if there's covid left, this machine is going to get rid of it? >> exactly. let's go taste the water. >> reporter: taste the water. the terminal island plant, has a tasting station, with two faucets to make comparisons. one goes to the households. and the other tap gives you the water that's purified in the plant. this is like wine tasting. this is the water that's delivered to my house, as a resident of the city of los angeles. delicious. okay. i'll put it right here. this is the water that started -- how many hours ago? >> about a day. >> about a day. >> the entire process, about a day. >> reporter: about a day ago, what i flushed down my toilet, has ended up with this? >> yeah.