Water district fights intrusion

The Orange County Water District is shoring up its groundwater wells,

which supply Surf City with more than half of its drinking water,

against saltwater intrusion by leasing space in its groundwater basin

to the Metropolitan Water District.

Saltwater intrusion is a perpetual threat in Huntington Beach and

other coastal cities.

The 25-year agreement, signed June 25 by the water districts, will

allow Metropolitan to store nearly 20 billion gallons of water in

Orange County’s groundwater basin, hiking up the level of the basin

and providing the county with an additional source of water that can

be used during dry spells or in the case of emergency.

A good portion of the $12 million that Metropolitan will pay the

county water district will be used to fortify the seawater barrier

along the coast, a high-pressure system that keeps saltwater from

intruding into drinking water wells, said John Kennedy, assistant

general manager for the Orange County Water District.

“We will build more injection wells and expand the pipelines,

which will give us more capacity to inject more water in the future,”

Kennedy said. “We want to inject water as much as we can along the

coast.”

Groundwater extraction wells will also be provided to eight

participating agencies, Buena Park, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Orange,

Santa Ana, Southern California Water Company, Westminster and the

Yorba Linda Water District. These cities and local water districts

will be able to fall back on the stored water and pump it out if

they’re ever in need of a backup supply.

Surf City and other coastal Orange County cities were not invited

to be among the participating agencies. Coastline cities, Kennedy

said, are “more fragile and susceptible to problems” such as

saltwater contamination. Building wells along the coastline would

also be a costlier endeavor, since they would have to be coupled with

injection wells.

“This is one of the ways to improve California’s overall water

efficiency,” said Ron Wildermuth, communications director at the

Orange County Water District. “Every drop that we can store in water

basins when it’s surplus water is preventing water from going to the

ocean.”

Metropolitan could start putting water in as soon as August,

Kennedy said. Construction of the eight extraction wells will begin

in just over a year and will take three years to complete.

The Orange County Water District manages and protects the

groundwater basin under north and central Orange County, which

delivers water to 2.3 million residents in 21 cities in Orange

County.

Correa submits changes to river conservancy bill

The Santa Ana assemblyman proposing a bill that would establish a

wide-reaching nature conservancy to oversee the 96-mile Santa Ana

River has agreed to amend his proposal to enhance local control.

Assemblyman Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana), who floated the proposal as

Assembly Bill 496, is also readying his legislation for a Tuesday

hearing in the state Senate.

On Friday, Correa submitted 22 changes to the bill, which he

introduced in February.

The bill would establish a wild lands conservancy similar to the

Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, which can secure bond money to

purchase land to be set aside as open space, pay for habitat

restoration or improve flood control and drainage.

Correa amended his bill, after the Board of Supervisors,

Assemblyman John Campbell (R-Newport Beach) and others criticized it

for ceding too much control to Sacramento lawmakers. Assemblymen Tom

Harman and Ken Maddox (R-Costa Mesa) have endorsed the bill.

Among Correa’s changes are the creation of a local advisory panel

of experts who would report to the board. Correa also clarified

language that prevents the agency’s from levying taxes, regulating

land use or using eminent domain to seize land.

OCTA makes Surf City bus routes more user friendly

Huntington Beach bus routes are becoming easier to navigate,

thanks to a pilot program launched by the Orange County

Transportation Authority to make bus stop signs more readable.

Signs along Orange County’s four busiest bus routes have been

redesigned to include more detailed route maps and upgraded bus

schedules. More than 700 signs along the four routes were revamped by

the end of June. Signs on the remaining 76 county routes are expected

to be replaced by mid-2004.

OCTA was named the second fastest-growing bus system in the United

States by the American Public Transportation Assn., second only to

Phoenixs system. Nearly 64 million people rode OCTA buses in 2002.

Ward Street to close due to pipeline construction

A section of Ward Street stretching from the mobile home park to

Garfield Avenue will be closed for about 30 days staring in early

July, while the Orange County Water District constructs a pipeline

that will protect its groundwater wells from saltwater intrusion.

The 42-inch pipeline will send water from a treatment plant at the

water district’s Fountain Valley facility into new injection wells.

The water will increase the pressure of the existing seawater

barrier, which in turn, will keep saltwater from contaminating the

freshwater wells.

During construction, set to extend from early July to the end of

September, Ward Street will be closed from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday

through Friday, and from 9 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Special detour signs will be placed to guide drivers along alternate

routes.

Council on Aging volunteers spread cheer to seniors

Volunteers delivered special holiday meals and handmade gift

baskets to nearly 100 homebound seniors on Sunday.

Norm’s Restaurant provided a luncheon at cost of barbecued

chicken, coleslaw and mashed potatoes and gravy with a thematic white

cake topped with strawberries and blue sprinkles for dessert. The

National Charity League Pacific Coast Chapter handmade more than 100

red, white and blue gift bags to accompany each meal.

Council on Aging Senior Team volunteers delivered Fourth of July

meals clients on the Seniors’ Outreach caseload.