This presentation was given at the ASCE Orange County seminar on "The Drought and OC Water Infrastructure" held at IRWD on October 31, 2014.

1. Director Denis Bilodeau, P.E.
Orange County Water District
American Society of Civil Engineers
The Drought and OC Water Infrastructure Seminar
October 31, 2014
Orange County’s Groundwater Replenishment System Expansion

2. Protecting Orange County’s Principal Water Supplies Since 1933

3. SOUND MANAGEMENT OF VALUABLE ASSETS
•
Recharge approx. $94 million of “free” water annually into the Orange County Groundwater Basin
•
Our local groundwater basin is valued at more than $4 Billion
•
500,000 AF operating range
•
Natural filtration through ground saves $1.5 Billion over manmade purification
•
Manage pumping rates using economic incentives
•
Investments in water quality testing and clean-up
•
Test 550+ compounds; analyze 20,000+ samples; report 400,000+ results annually
Santa Ana River
Prado Wetlands
•
Funding and resources to protect habitat
•
Work with Army Corps of Engineers to store stormwater

4. Newport Beach
Anaheim
Recharge
Drinking Water Wells
NONWATER-BEARING FORMATION
0 miles
1,000’
2,000’
3,000’
5
10
15
20
0’
OCWD Manages OC’s Groundwater Basin
Shallow Aquifer
Principal Aquifer
Deep Aquifer

5. California Historic Water Challenges and Water Sources
•
Majority of population in Southern California but majority of rainfall in Northern California
•
California uses more water than any other state
•
Semi-arid region with recurring droughts
•
Water Sources: imported supplies, groundwater, stormwater, water transfers, desalination and water recycling.

6. •
Operational since January 2008
•
70 million gallons day advanced water purification facility
•23 billion gallons per year source of water –enough for 600,000 people
•Takes treated wastewater that otherwise would be wasted to the ocean and purifies it to near-distilled quality
•Largest advanced water purification project of its kind in the world
OCWD Invests In Water Reliability

7. Why Did We Need The GWRS?
•
Extended drought
•
Imported water shortages
–
Colorado River losses
–
State Water Project losses
•
Environmental restrictions
•
Potential levee failures
•
Local projects lessen dependency on outside sources
•
Seawater intrusion challenges

8. Challenges Lead to Collaboration

Orange County Water District

Expand WF-21 to address seawater intrusion and supply water needs of a growing population

Orange County Sanitation District

Build a second ocean outfall

9. Purification Process
•
The GWRS purifies highly-treated wastewater using microfiltration, reverse osmosis, and ultraviolet light with hydrogen peroxide. Once purified, minerals are added to stabilize the water
•
Thirty million gallons of GWRS water are injected into Orange County’s seawater barrier
•
The remaining water is piped to recharge lakes in Anaheim
Microfiltration
Reverse Osmosis
Ultraviolet Light with Hydrogen Peroxide

10. GWRS Pipeline
GWRS Components

11. Aerial View of GWRS
Ward Street
Euclid

12. Estimated Unit Cost of Existing GWRS with GWRS Expansion Project – “Melded Rate”
$521/af
$478/af
$612/af
65,950 afy
31,000 afy

13. GWRS Final Phase [Future]
•
Final expansion of GWRS—Approximately $150 million
•
This final phase will provide an additional 30,000 AFY— totaling enough water for more than a million people in north and central Orange County
•
OCWD is conducting water quality and planning studies for final expansion
•
Need to recycle OCSD Plant #2 flows

14. OCWD Service Territory Water Supplies
0
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Acre-Feet per Year
Imported
Misc
GWRS
Natural Incidential
SAR Storm Flow
SAR Base flow

15. Multiple Benefits of GWRS
•
Creates a new local water supply
•
Reuses a wasted resource
•
Protects OC’s groundwater basin from seawater intrusion
•
Helps region be drought resilient
•
Costs less than imported water
•
Saves half the energy of imported water
•
Improves quality of water in the basin
•
Helps to meet the water needs of a growing population

16. GWRS is Recognized World-Wide

17. End of Presentation
Questions? Please call 714•378•8244 To sign up for tours or for more information, visit us at www.ocwd.com.