FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., Feb. 28, 2002 -- The State Water Resources Control Board recently awarded $5 million in grant funding to the Groundwater Replenishment (GWR) System.
The latest award brings the total grant funding for the project to $62.5 million.
The GWR System is a joint project of the Orange County Water District and Orange County Sanitation District that is designed to provide Orange County with an additional source of safe, pure water for up to 200,000 families each year.
In announcing the award, the state board noted that the GWR System will help augment the state's water supply by reducing the need for water purchases from the State Water Project and the Colorado River.
To date, the GWR System has received funding from the 2000 State Water Bond (Proposition 13), California Energy Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, Bureau of Reclamation and Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
Phase 1 of the project is currently underway. It includes full design and construction of a high-tech water purification system, proposed to be dedicated in early 2006 and cost approximately $350 million.
The GWR System will purify highly treated sewer water, currently sent to the ocean, to produce near-distilled quality water to replenish our local groundwater basin. The high-tech purification process includes membrane filtration through microfiltration and reverse osmosis as well as additional treatment using ultraviolet light and hydrogen peroxide.
The water will be used to expand an existing underground seawater intrusion barrier, and also will be naturally filtered into the groundwater basin by the Orange County Water District.
The GWR System will be located on the property of the Orange County Water District and the Orange County Sanitation District in Fountain Valley. The system will provide up to 100,000 acre-feet of water for the north-central part of the county. An acre-foot is 326,000 gallons, or enough water for two families of four for one year.
For more information on the Groundwater Replenishment System, visit www.gwrsystem.com.
Orange County Water District is a special district that was created by the California State Legislature in 1933 to maintain and manage the groundwater basin under northern and central Orange County.
OCWD's groundwater basin supplies 75% of the water needs in Anaheim, Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Irvine, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Newport Beach, Orange, Placentia, Santa Ana, Seal Beach, Stanton, Tustin, Villa Park, Westminster, and Yorba Linda.
Orange County Sanitation District is the third largest wastewater treatment system west of the Mississippi River, serving 2.2 million residents in northern and central Orange County.
