User:Ocwdnews/Orange County Water District

Orange County Water District
The Orange County Water District (OCWD) is a special district formed in 1933 by an act of the California Legislature. The District was originally created to protect Orange County’s rights to Santa Ana River water and to manage the vast groundwater basin that underlies north and central Orange County.Orange County’s groundwater basin is a large underground reservoir that holds much of northern and central Orange County’s water supply. The cities, along with the public and private water agencies that overlie the basin, pump water from the groundwater basin and deliver it by pipeline to their customers. Over the years, OCWD has made fiscally-sound investments in the basin that have more than doubled the amount of water able to be produced from the basin.

Groundwater satisfies approximately 70 percent of the water needs for 2.3 million people in the 21 northern and central Orange County cities overlying the groundwater basin. The remainder of the water demand for these cities is met by importing water from Northern California and the Colorado River through the Metropolitan Water District of California.

Groundwater Recharge
To replace the groundwater that is pumped out of the basin every year, OCWD has a proactive program to refill the basin and ensure a reliable water supply for the population it serves. OCWD refills the basin with water from the Santa Ana River, recycled water and imported water (when available). To refill the basin, water is channeled off the Santa Ana River into more than a dozen nearby lakes called settling or percolation ponds located in the cities of Anaheim and Orange. The water is filtered through the bottom and sides of the percolation ponds and enters the deep aquifers, where it is ultimately withdrawn by water retailers for commercial and residential usage.

Groundwater Monitoring
OCWD has one of the most sophisticated groundwater monitoring programs in the country. The District runs more than 350,000 analysis of water from more than 650 wells every year. OCWD performs nearly 50 percent more water quality tests than it is required to do in order to ensure the highest water quality possible.In 2004, OCWD completed a 10-year, $10 million Santa Ana River Water Quality and Health Effects Study, which demonstrated the safety of Santa Ana River water as a source for recharging the groundwater basin. A panel of nationally recognized experts provided an independent review of the study and validated its positive results.

Groundwater Replenishment System
Building on 30 years of water purification experience from the world-renowned and recently demolished Water Factory 21, OCWD partnered with the Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD) to construct the largest water purification project of its kind in the world, the Groundwater Replenishment (GWR) System. The GWR System takes highly treated sewer water from OCSD, currently sent to the ocean, and purifies it to near-distilled quality water. The water is used to expand OCWD’s existing seawater barrier, which helps prevent seawater from intruding into the groundwater basin. GWR System water is also sent to percolation ponds where it blends with natural groundwater supplies.OCWD is committed to decreasing Orange County’s dependency on imported water from the Colorado River and Northern California. The current method of moving water through the Delta to the pumps of the California State Water Project and Central Valley Projects is in jeopardy due to recent environmental rulings. The GWR System diminishes the region’s reliance on uncertain imported water supplies. The water purification facility provides a drought-proof, locally controlled, reliable water supply that serves more than 500,000 residents per year. GWR reduces the amount of outfall during storms to the Pacific Ocean, preserves the county’s vital coast and uses fewer gas emissions than when importing water from the California State Water Project.

Natural Resources
OCWD is a leader in water and natural resource development. OCWD manages the largest constructed wetlands in Southern California behind Prado Dam to naturally remove nitrates from Santa Ana River flows. The wetlands area is a major stop on the Western flyway and home to more than 200 native species. Through water conservation and environmental mitigation measures in the Prado Dam area, OCWD has brought back an endangered California songbird, the least Bells vireo, from less than 19 breeding pairs in the 1980s to 600 pairs today. Additional environmental programs include watershed removal of the non-native Arundo donax plant and study and restoration work in support of both the Santa Ana Sucker fish and the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher bird.