Orange County Grand Jury
• 2014-2015
Grand Jury 2014-2015 Increasing Water Recycling: a Win-Win for Orange County
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings 8 findings
F1
The Orange County Sanitation District processes an average of 198 million gallons per day of wastewater and sends 121 million gallons per day of secondary treated wastewater to the ocean.
F2
The Orange County Water District receives an average of 92 million gallons per day of treated wastewater from Orange County Sanitation District and recycles 70 million gallons per day of water treated to potable water standards that is then returned to the groundwater basin aquifers.
F3
From the 92 million gallons per day from Orange County Sanitation District the Orange County Water District recycles 7 million gallons per day of water treated to plant irrigation standards.
F4
The Irvine Ranch Water District processes 21.9 million gallons per day of wastewater and recycles 20.2 million gallons per day for purple pipe use. 2014-2015 Orange County Grand Jury Increasing Water Recycling: A Win-Win for Orange County
F5
The South OC Wastewater Authority (SOCWA) processes 22.7 million gallons per day of wastewater, treats 8 million gallons per day to purple pipe standards, and sends 14.7 million gallons per day to the ocean.
F6
The El Toro Water District, the City of San Clemente, the Santa Margarita Water District and the Trabuco Canyon Water District process a combined average total of 19.3 million gallons per day and send to the ocean 9.5 million gallons per day. The remaining 9.8 million gallons per day are used for landscape irrigation.
F7
In north and central Orange County, the cost to create potable recycled water is $1,468 per million gallons or $1,133 less than the current cost per million gallons of imported water.
F8
The South OC Wastewater Authority (SOCWA) cost to recycle wastewater currently exceeds the cost of imported water, however the Grand Jury believes that the cost of imported water will increase. RECOMMENDATIONS In accordance with California Penal Code sections 933 and 933.05, the 2014- 2015 Grand Jury requires (or, as noted, requests) responses from each agency affected by the recommendations presented in this section. The responses are submitted to the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court. Based on its investigation of Wastewater Processing in Orange County, the 2014-2015 Orange County Grand Jury makes the following four recommendations:
Recommendations 4
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R1Orange County Sanitation District should conduct a study of possible methods of increasing the amount of processed wastewater sent to Orange County Water District, including timelines and noting any barriers that may prevent increasing flow, and implement the most cost effective method to reduce the amount of imported water to Orange County. (F.1.) (F.2.) (F.7.)
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R2Orange County Water District should conduct a study of possible methods of increasing the amount of processed wastewater and implement the most cost effective method to reduce the amount of imported water to Orange County. (F.2.) (F.3.) (F.7.)
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R3South Orange County Wastewater Authority should conduct a study of possible methods of increasing the amount of processed wastewater and implement the most cost effective method to reduce the amount of imported water to Orange County. (F. 5.) (F. 8.)
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R4The El Toro Water District, the City of San Clemente, the Santa Margarita Water District, and the Trabuco Canyon Water District should conduct a study of possible methods of increasing the amount of processed wastewater and implement the most cost effective method to reduce the amount of imported water to Orange County. (F.6.) 2014-2015 Orange County Grand Jury Increasing Water Recycling: A Win-Win for Orange County
Commendations 1
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CM1The 2014-2015 Grand Jury commends the OC Sanitation District and the OC Water District for the partnership they developed to recycle wastewater for the beneficial use of north and central OC residents. Last year’s average of 77 mgpd of recycled water reduces dependence on more expensive imported water at a time when the amounts of external water supplies are stressed by the State’s prolonged drought. The 2014-2015 Grand Jury commends the Irvine Ranch Water District for the years of recycling water for landscape irrigation leadership. Last year they recycled over 92% of the wastewater they received. REFERENCES State of water, summer 2013: A call for investing in reliability.[Pamphlet]. (2013). Municipal Water District of Orange County. Municipal Water District of Orange County (2014). Water rates and charges. Retrieved from http://www.mwdoc.com/pages.php?id_pge=166 2014-2015 Orange County Grand Jury Page 10 Increasing Water Recycling: A Win-Win for Orange County APPENDIX:
Agency Responses 1
Government agencies' official responses to this report's findings and recommendations. Click on a response to see the structured breakdown.