Situation

Central and northern Orange County water demands are expected to increase nearly 20 percent by 2020.

 Like all of Southern California, securing future water supplies for Orange County is challenging. For decades, water purchased from outside of Southern California, such as from the Colorado River and State Water Project, provided an ample supplement to Orange County drinking water supplies. However, Orange County’s allotment of water from these sources is expected to decrease.

 The reduction in imported water supplies, combined with the recurring droughts and the dramatic population growth projected in the area, clearly indicate that demand for water will overwhelm supply unless new water supplies are found.

Project Description

The Groundwater Replenishment (GWR) System is the largest water purification project of its kind in the world and will help increase Orange County’s water independence by providing a locally controlled, drought-proof supply of safe, high-quality water. Initially operational at 70 million gallons per day, the GWR System generates enough pure water to meet the needs of 500,000 people. GWR System purified water exceeds all state and federal drinking water standards and water quality similar to, or better than, bottled water.

How it Works

The GWR System takes highly treated sewer water and purifies it using a state-of-the-art, three-step process – the same technology used to purify baby food, fruit juices, medicines and bottled water.

 Once purified by the three-step process – microfiltration, reverse osmosis, and ultraviolet light with hydrogen peroxide disinfection – roughly half of the water from the GWR System is injected into Orange County’s seawater barrier. The seawater barrier is an underground pressure ridge of water formed by injection wells along the coast of Orange County.

 The remaining water is piped to spreading basins in Anaheim, Calif., where the water takes the natural path of rainwater as it filters through clay, sand and rock to the deep aquifers of the groundwater basin.

Project Benefits

Regulatory Agency Approvals

The GWR System was reviewed, approved and permitted by the California Department of Public Health and California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Santa Ana River Basin, to ensure public health, water quality and environmental compliance before allowing injection along the coast (approval received on January 10, 2008) and percolation into deep aquifers (approval received on January 18, 2008).

Funding Sources

A mix of federal, state and local funding has been applied to this project, estimated at $487 million. Grants of $92.5 million have been secured, which includes $37 million from the State Water Bond (Proposition 13) approved by California voters in 2000, plus $30 million from the California Department of Water Resources and $5 million from the State Water Resources Control Board awarded in 2002. The California Energy Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, Bureau of Reclamation and Metropolitan Water District of Southern California have provided additional grants.  Additional grants are being pursued.

Awards

•       2005 California Governor's Environmental and Economic Leadership Award;

•       2004 National WateReuse Association “Public Education Program of the Year”;

•       2004 Flex Your Power energy efficiency award recipient;

•       2004 California WateReuse Association Recycled Water Public Education/Community Outreach Program of the Year;

•       Selected by the U.S. Department of Energy as a national example of “best practices” in communicating scientific information;

•       2002 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Achievement Award; and

•      1998 WateReuse Association of California “Planned Project of the Year”.

Construction

Under construction since 2003 and planned since 1994, the GWR System consists of:

•       A new advanced water purification facility on existing water agency land in Fountain Valley, Calif.;

•       New injection and monitoring wells for an expanded seawater intrusion barrier; and

•       A 13-mile pipeline in the west levee of the Santa Ana River between Fountain Valley and Anaheim, California.

Construction is occurring in the following cities: Anaheim, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Orange and Santa Ana.

Project Area Population

2.3 million residents and 300,000 to 500,000 additional Orange County residents projected by 2020.

Orange County Water District (OCWD)

OCWD manages and protects the large groundwater basin underlying north and central Orange County. OCWD is a special district, separate from the County of Orange or any city government. It was created by the California Legislature in 1933 to manage Orange County’s groundwater basin.  The groundwater basin supplies more than half of the water needs for 2.3 million residents in the cities of Anaheim, Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Irvine, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Newport Beach, Orange, Placentia, Santa Ana, Seal Beach, Stanton, Tustin, Villa Park, Westminster and Yorba Linda. To learn more about Orange County’s water, log on to www.ocwd.com. 

Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD)

OCSD is responsible for safely collecting, treating, and disposing of sewage. It is a special district, separate from the County of Orange or any city government, established under the State Health and Safety Code, to provide sewerage service to a specific geographic area. The Orange County Sanitation District is governed by a 25-member board of directors comprised of representatives of local sewering agencies and cities within its 470-square-mile service area.  For more information, visit the Web site at www.ocsd.com.