A watershed moment: Orange County leaders gush over system completion

Orange County officials gathered Friday in Fountain Valley to toast.

They did so with water, not champagne, which was certainly appropriate, given the occasion.

This particular water came from the Orange County Water District’s Groundwater Replenishment System, which is now complete after its second expansion. The GWRS provides up to 130 million gallons of water per day — enough to fill nearly 200 Olympic-sized pools and enough for a million people.

The system, a joint project with the adjacent Orange County Sanitation District, is the world’s largest purification system for indirect potable reuse. It takes highly treated wastewater from the Sanitation District and purifies it. This is done using a three-step process of micro filtration, reverse osmosis and ultraviolet light with hydrogen peroxide.

“This is a natural groundwater basin,” said Sandy Scott-Roberts, GWRS program manager for the Orange County Water District. “Underneath our feet right here is sandy soil, naturally filled with groundwater. It is pretty handy to have, because that means the cities here in north and central Orange County can drink this groundwater, pull it out of the ground and send it to their homes for drinking. Our job is to manage this groundwater basin. If we’re only pulling water out, it’s going to be depleted, and so that’s what this project is.”

Water treated at the Orange County Water District’s Groundwater Replenishment System is available at the ceremony to celebrate the facility’s completion on Friday.

(Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)

Water Factory 21, a wastewater reclamation plant and desalter that produced 15 million gallons per day and operated from 1975 to 2004, preceded the GWRS.

The GWRS started in 2008, producing 70 million gallons per day, Scott-Roberts said. It reduces the volume of treated wastewater that would otherwise be discharged into the ocean by the Sanitation District.

The GWRS was first expanded in 2015 to 100 million gallons per day, before the final expansion was completed recently. In order to produce the significant leap to 130 million gallons per day, additional treated wastewater was required from the Sanitation District’s second plant in Huntington Beach.

Cathy Green, the president of the Orange County Water District, speaks during the celebration of the completion of the Groundwater Replenishment System in Fountain Valley on Friday.

(Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)

The final expansion came in on time and under budget, officials said, at about $284 million. Total project costs are more than $900 million, with several grants and low-interest rate loans received over the years by many state and federal agencies.

The Orange County Water District serves about 2.5 million residents in north and central Orange County. South Orange County does not have a groundwater basin and is fully reliant on imported water, Scott-Roberts said.

Cathy Green, former mayor of Huntington Beach and president of the Orange County Water District, served as emcee for Friday’s event. It included a video message from California Sen. Alex Padilla.

“Many of you in the audience work in politics, so you know collaboration and partnership of this magnitude are not easily achieved,” Green said. “The GWRS is truly a testament to the people who looked to the future and saw opportunity. They saw a challenge worth fighting for.”

The Groundwater Replenishment System at the Orange County Water District is made up of reverse osmosis units which treat 130 million gallons of reclaimed water per day.

(Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)

Officials at the event who spoke also included U.S. Reps. Lou Correa, Young Kim and Katie Porter, as well as Assembly members Cottie Petrie-Norris, Tri Ta and Diane Dixon.

“This is an amazing feat,” said Porter, a Democrat who represents District 73, including Irvine, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Costa Mesa and Seal Beach. “The benefits of this Groundwater Replenishment System are clear. It provides a reliable source of clean water, it reduces our dependence on unpredictable — this year, ample — rainfall, and more important, expensive imported water. This water project will give Orange County families water independence and water security.”

State Sen. Dave Min also addressed the hundreds in attendance.

Fountain Valley Mayor Pro Tem Glenn Grandis was also present, as were Fountain Valley Mayor Kim Constantine and Huntington Beach Mayor Pro Tem Gracey Van Der Mark.

“To be the host city of the largest water recycling system in the entire world is pretty amazing,” Grandis said.

Cottie Petrie-Norris, Assemblywoman for the 73rd District, center, and Young Kim, U.S. Rep. for the 40th District, drink treated water Friday as Diane Dixon, Assemblywoman for the 72nd District, looks on.

(Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)

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