Groundwater Replenishment System

ORANGE COUNTY RESIDENTS INVITED TO TOUR CONSTRUCTIONS SITE FOR
WATER PURIFICATION PLANT

Tour Scheduled for Saturday, January 7 from 9 to 10:30 a.m.

What: The Groundwater Replenishment System (GWR System) is a new water project for Orange County that will help meet future water demands. As part of an ongoing effort to provide Orange County residents with information about the GWR System and the construction of the water new purification facility on Ellis Avenue, officials from Orange County Water District will host a tour of the construction site and the existing water purification plant.

The tours are conducted by Mike Markus, OCWD assistant general manager and project manager for the GWR System. The tours are free and open to all interested residents.

When:    Saturday, January 7, 2006 from 9-10:30 a.m

Where:  10500 Ellis Ave. Fountain Valley. Meet in the administration parking lot – off of Ellis Avenue – near the corner of Ellis and Ward. Refreshments will be served and walking shoes with closed toes are recommended.

Why:  The tour provides residents with an opportunity to learn about the project and its technology while touring the construction site and the Phase I facility that is currently utilizing the same purification processes as the GWR System, but on a smaller scale.

Contact:    Kira Erquiaga, community liaison, at (949) 216-9038

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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.