Water Reuse

The largest groundwater recharge plant in the world

Oct. 14, 2024

With more than 28,000 individual reverse osmosis membranes, the Orange County Water District Ground Water Replenishment System shows how water reuse works at a massive scale.

Bob Crossen

Alex Cossin

Mandy Crispin

The Orange County Water District (OCWD) Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS) is the largest advanced water treatment plant in the world for groundwater recharge. Since it was commissioned, it has produced 445.8 billion gallons of water treated through microfiltration, reverse osmosis and ultraviolet disinfection. That amounts to up to 130 million gallons per day; enough to meet the needs of 1 million people.

Mehul Patel, executive director of operations for the OCWD GWRS, took WaterWorld editors on a tour of the plant to share how it is bolstering Orange County's water supplies through water reuse.

About the Author

Bob Crossen | Editorial Director

Bob Crossen is the editorial director for WaterWorld Magazine, Wastewater Digest, Stormwater Solutions, and Water Quality Products, which compose the Endeavor Business Media Water Group. Crossen graduated from Illinois State University in Dec. 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts in German and a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism. He has worked in business-to-business journalism covering the drinking water, wastewater, stormwater and point-of-use/point-of-entry markets since April or 2016. Crossen can be reached at [email protected] or 847.954.7980.