County pushes water program

June Casagrande

The Orange County Water District has launched a full-scale media

blitz to promote its Groundwater Replenishment System -- a project

that will add treated sewer water to drinking water supplies.

The message “safe as bottled water” is central to the $700,000

promotional campaign, that includes public service announcements on

five cable stations and three rounds of mailers, each to 783,000

homes in about 20 Orange County cities.

The Groundwater Replenishment System, the first of its kind in the

country, will use wastewater treated to drinking-water standards to

make up the difference between supply and demand for water in Orange

County. The water will go through three treatment processes --

microfiltration, reverse osmosis and ultraviolet disinfection --

before it is sent to ponds where it gradually filters back into the

groundwater basin.

Phase I of the project, which will cost about $450 million, is

expected to begin supplying about 20% of the water in the groundwater

basin in 2006 or 2007. The project is expected to be complete by

2020.

“Imported supplies are becoming less and less reliable so we need

local projects like the Groundwater Replenishment System to prevent

local shortages,” said Jenny Glasser, public affairs specialist for

the water district. “We want to make sure that everyone in Orange

County knows that we need this project, and understands the reason

why: So we can’t prevent future water shortages.”

Demand for water in Orange County is expected to rise about 20% by

the year 2020 -- a level that can’t be sustained by current supplies.

Further, sources of imported water that the district relies on to

make up the difference are expected to cut back the amount they are

willing to sell to the Orange County Water District.

The city of Newport Beach is one of several dozen agencies that

supports the plan. Newport Beach gets about 75% of its water from the

groundwater supply managed by the Orange County Water District.

“Absolutely, we support the plan, but with the caution that the

water district continue to stay vigilant to watch for contaminants

that have taught us all lessons in the past, like 1,4-dioxane and

NMDA,” Assistant City Manager Dave Kiff said. “It’s important to know

that quality standards for our groundwater basin are as good or

better than bottled water. If there’s a bad chemical out there

somewhere in the water supply, it’s more likely to end up in your

bottled water than in the groundwater. Me, I’ll drink the

groundwater.”

1,4-dioxane is an industrial chemical that was found in very small

quantities in water drawn from Newport Beach wells in January 2002.

Though the contamination was corrected at the source within a few

days, the incident was an eye-opener for water regulators because

they hadn’t known that chemicals could get past the reverse-osmosis

treatment process. As a result, the water district has added a third

treatment process, using ultraviolet light, to remove agents such as

1,4-dioxane.

The project will be paid for partly by government grants, partly

by increased costs to water customers. The district has secured about

$92.5 million from state, local and federal grants, which includes

$37 million from the State Water Bond (Proposition 13) approved by

voters in 2000. The portion paid by consumers will average about 74

cents per month per household in perpetuity.

“The most advanced technology will allow us to obtain purified

water as clean and pure as bottled water,” U.S. Rep. Chris Cox said

in a statement Monday announcing that the U.S. Congress would give

financial support needed to complete the project by 2020.

“Orange County’s Groundwater Replenishment System will aid our

state in avoiding a serious water crisis in times of drought and

fiscal shortages,” said Cox, a Republican who represents Newport

Beach.