Orange County Water Sustainability; Who Cares.*

R1

MWDOC and OCWD should continue their role in coordinating water planning. The recommendation has been implemented. The District and MWDOC work very closely in coordinating water issues for the benefit of the region.

R3

Desalination must be included in any discussion of future water sources for Orange County The recommendation has been implemented. The District is now studying the option of developing a desalination plant in the City of Huntington Primary OCWD functions and tasks include: Annually recharging the groundwater basin – OCWD recharges approximately 160,000 acre-feet per year of Santa Ana River (SAR) water into the basin to support annual groundwater pumping. OCWD owns more than 1,500 acres of land in the cities of Anaheim and Orange to accomplish this task. Additionally small amounts of imported water are also purchased from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California via the Municipal Water District of Orange County (MWDOC) to recharge the groundwater basin. Preventing seawater intrusion – OCWD prevents seawater intrusion into the . groundwater basin by constructing, operating and maintaining injection wells along the coast. Water is pumped into different groundwater basin aquifers via the injection wells forming a hydraulic barrier. Approximately 35,000 acre-feet per year of water is injected along the coast through 36 injection wells. This injected water also assists in annually recharging the groundwater basin. Protecting Santa Ana River Water rights - OCWD maintains and protects the • regions rights to SAR flows as part of the 1969 SAR Stipulated Judgment. The 1969 Judgment resolved decades of lawsuits between OCWD and agencies in the upper SAR watershed. OCWD now works with these agencies to monitor and manage SAR flows and to avoid water rights issues and future litigation. Sustainably manage the groundwater basin – The basin is a reservoir that can . be over drafted and refilled depending upon the needs of the area. The practical useable storage volume of the groundwater basin is 500,000 to 700,000 acre- feet. The OCWD Board annually sets the amount of allowable pumping. Determining the annual basin pumping depends upon many factors including basin management goals that particular year, projected water conditions and available imported water supplies. Operating the Groundwater Replenishment System – The GWRS creates 72,000 . acre-feet per year of water supply that is used to replenish the groundwater basin. The GWRS construction was a joint partnership with the Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD). The GWRS cost $481 million to construct and has an annual operating cost of about $39 million. The unit cost of GWRS water is less than imported water and is more reliable. The GWRS has won numerous awards, including the Stockholm Industry Water Award, the highest international water award, and the American Society of Civil Engineer's 2009 Project of the Year Award, the highest national engineering award. OCWD works in partnership with the OCSD to purify more than 50% of Orange County's wastewater that would normally have been lost to the Pacific Ocean. OCWD is currently expanding the project to 103,000 acre-feet per year, which is enough water for nearly 850,000 residents and the equivalent of over $100 million in imported water. The GWRS is a historic water project that serves as a model for other water agencies worldwide. Prado Dam Operations – OCWD works closely with the U.S. Army Corps of • Engineers (the Corps) to capture winter time SAR storm waters behind Prado Dam which are then released at lower rates so that they can be captured at Beach. This facility could provide an additional 50,000 acre-feet per year of new local water supplies for the region. OCWD is also committed to engaging the public in the process of exploring ocean desalination and will be establishing an Ocean Desalination Citizens' Advisory Committee to provide input to the Board as it considers the project.

R5

The MWDOC shall continue providing data to the water districts and city water departments encouraging tiered pricing to assist with water conservation. This recommendation is not applicable to OCWD but has been implemented by MWDOC.