Water treatment plant serving Orange County returns to service a day early
• Water officials thank residents, businesses for their conservation efforts, which averted water outages in parts of county
LOS ANGELES, April 2, 2007 -- With the water-saving assistance of area residents and businesses, a regional water treatment plant serving Orange County resumed full operation early Saturday -- nearly a day ahead of schedule -- after undergoing a series of upgrades that are necessary to ensure drinking water for the future.
Consumers, who had been asked by the Metropolitan Water District, the Municipal Water District of Orange County and local water agencies to voluntarily conserve water while the facility was out of service, may now return to normal water usage.
Metropolitan's Robert B. Diemer Water Treatment Plant is the primary source of treated drinking water to communities served by MWDOC, as well as the cities of Anaheim, Fullerton and Santa Ana. The plant provides about 95 percent of south Orange County's potable water needs via two regional water pipelines.
"Crews worked around the clock to minimize any inconvenience to consumers in the region," said Debra C. Man, Metropolitan's chief operating officer. "We're enormously pleased the work was completed so quickly and successfully."
Located in Yorba Linda, the Diemer plant, which treats water imported from Northern California and the Colorado River, was shut down last Sunday, March 25.
The plant was expected to be out of service until midnight March 31, while work took place to improve the plant's treatment processes and modify chemical handling capabilities.
Metropolitan, however, began making limited water deliveries from the plant to local agencies late last night and returned Diemer to full service by early this morning.
Orange County water providers prepared for months to ensure their customers would have sufficient supplies during the planned shutdown. Residents and businesses also were asked to assist in maximizing existing supplies by reducing their water usage during the week.
Two days into the shutdown, however, overall water demand was considerably higher than anticipated, raising concern among county water officials. In response, MWDOC and local agencies used radio and newspaper advertisements, as well as freeway message boards, which typically announce Amber Alerts and warn motorists of traffic delays, to intensify the call for water conservation. The public's response allowed sufficient supplies of water to reach all Orange County customers.
"We greatly appreciate the public's support and want to thank residents and businesses for their conservation efforts, which helped avert water outages in some parts of the county," said Karl Seckel, assistant general manager, Municipal Water District, which manages the water supply the county receives from Metropolitan.
"The plant is back in operation, but the need to efficiently use our water supplies remains," he continued. "We live in a semi-arid region where water is a limited resource and conservation a way of life."
Work completed during the shutdown is part of $155 million in construction under way at Diemer. Projects completed included the relocation of existing facilities in preparation for a new ozone disinfection system. Construction at the plant is expected to continue through 2011.
To minimize impact on consumers, Metropolitan (www.mwdh2o.com) routinely schedules shutdowns of its facilities in winter months, when temperatures are usually cooler and demands lower, to complete inspections and perform maintenance and upgrades, MWD's Man said.
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