Council approves water purification system

Stacy Brown

NEWPORT BEACH -- The City Council voted Monday to back a proposed

ground water replenishment system that will ensure safe water for city

residents for the next two decades.

In their 4-2 vote with council members Tom Thomson and Norma Glover

voting no (Councilman Tod Ridgeway was absent), council members agreed

with two Orange County agencies and several officials who said the system

was necessary to ensure clean water.

According to city officials, the replenishment system will be

available for the next 20 years, regardless of rainfall levels or drought

conditions.

The Orange County Water District and the Orange County Sanitation

District plan to build a pipeline and treatment facilities if the concept

is supported by the public and receives approval from federal, state and

local authorities.

County officials said the proposed system would create a new, safe

and reliable water supply to meet increased demands for high quality

water.

But environmental activists Bob Caustin and his wife, Susan Skinner,

asked council to vote against the water improvements because they would

only be a prelude to more development.

“When do we say enough development, that’s what this is all about,”

Skinner said. “No one can give us 100% assurance that this method is

safe. Maybe we should say there are limits on development and that water

is a limited resource.”

Under the plan, treated waste water from the Sanitation District,

which is discharged into the ocean, would undergo treatment that includes

microfiltration, reverse osmosis and disinfection.

According to district officials, the purified water would be of

exceptional quality and would exceed all state and federal drinking water

standards.

The system will also be available for multiple purposes including

household, landscaping, industrial and prevention of sea water intrusion.

Mayor Dennis O’Neil said last week that the council’s approval would

“replenish ground water to protect the system where we own three or four

wells in Fountain Valley where water is pumped into Newport Beach.”

O’Neil said there is a need to protect the ground water from salt

water and other contaminants.

“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,” the

mayor said.