Groundwater Replenishment System

LOCAL, STATE AND NATIONAL ELECTED POLITICAL LEADERS EXPECTED TO ATTEND GROUNDWATER REPLENISHMENT SYSTEM GROUNDBREAKING EVENT

Innovative water purification project seen as solution to Orange County's future water needs and a model for the world

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif. –

What: Orange County Water District (OCWD) and Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD) will commemorate completion of Phase One of the Groundwater Replenishment (GWR) System with an official groundbreaking ceremony.

Members of Orange County's Congressional Delegation expected to attend include:
* Ken Calvert, 44th District
* Gary Miller, 42nd District
* Dana Rohrabacher, 46th District
* Ed Royce, 40th District
* Loretta Sanchez, 47th District

Also expected to attend are:
* Lester Snow, Secretary - Department of Water Resources
* Lisa Kalustian, Deputy Chief of Staff (Los Angeles), Governor Schwarzenegger

Why: The GWR System, a state-of-the-art water purification system, is the first of its kind in the world. It takes highly treated sewer water that is currently released into the ocean and purifies it using the same technologies that purify baby food, fruit juices, medicines and bottled water. The purified water will be used in an expanded seawater intrusion barrier to augment groundwater supplies for north and central Orange County residents.

Water districts facing similar population and climate pressures as California from around the globe are expected to emulate it to produce their own new high-quality source of water.

When: Monday, Sept. 20 from 4-6 p.m.

Where: Orange County Water District campus
10500 Ellis Avenue
Fountain Valley, CA 92708

*Parking for the ceremony will be located near the corner of Garfield Avenue and Ward Street, at the southwest corner of the district's property

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The Groundwater Replenishment (GWR) System, a new high-tech water purification system, will produce water similar in quality to bottled water. GWR System water will be used to service a larger, expanded seawater barrier and to help drought-proof Orange County's groundwater basin by providing better water reliability and more local control over part of our water future.

Orange County Water District is a special district that was created by the California State Legislature in 1933 to maintain and manage the groundwater basin under northern and central Orange County. OCWD’s groundwater basin supplies 75% of the water needs in 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.

Orange County Sanitation District is the third largest wastewater treatment system west of the Mississippi River, serving 2.2 million residents in northern and central Orange County.