Council to consider water-safety system

Stacy Brown

NEWPORT BEACH -- Tonight, the City Council will make a decision on just

how sweet the water should be.

The council will consider whether to support a proposed ground water

replenishment system.

Two Orange County agencies -- the Orange County Water District and the

Orange County Sanitation District -- plan to build a pipeline and

treatment facilities if the concept is publicly supported and receives

approval from federal, state and local authorities.

“There is a need to ensure that saltwater and other things don’t get into

our ground water,” said Mayor Dennis O’Neil. “Seventy-five percent of our

water comes through this system so if there is concern we want to take

steps to continue to (make it safe).”

City officials said the proposed system would create a new, safe and

reliable water supply to meet the increased demands for high-quality

water.

If the system was approved, treated waste water from the Sanitation

District, which is discharged into the ocean, would undergo treatment,

including microfiltration, reverse osmosis and disinfection.

The purified water would be of exceptional quality, officials said, and

would exceed all state and federal drinking water standards.

“We’re approving a system to replenish ground water to protect the system

where we own 3 or 4 wells in Fountain Valley -- where water is pumped

into Newport Beach,” O’Neil said.

City staff said the replenishment system will be available regardless of

rainfall levels or drought conditions.

Furthermore, officials said, its approval is necessary because of

predictions that the county will experience a water shortage of 150,000

acre-feet -- the amount of water needed for 300,00 families -- within the

next 20 years.