OC Water District Breaks Ground on Expanded Water Purification Facility

The Orange County Water District in Fountain Valley broke ground Tuesday afternoon on a water purification system expansion that will bring clean water to an additional 350,000 county residents every year.

The groundwater replenishment system is the largest water purification facility of its kind. The expansion of the facility will include 31,000 acre-feet per year of new water supplies and will add 30 million gallons per day of replenished water to the 70 million gallons per day that is already replenished by the current system. According to GWRS Steering Committee Chairman Roger Yoh, the current system supplies enough water for 500,000 Orange County residents each year. The expanded system will supply enough for 850,000 residents.

The replenishment system uses water that has been used in everyday amenities, including sewers, toilets and washing machines, and treats the water through a three-step process. The process includes micro filtration, reverse osmosis, ultraviolet light and hydrogen peroxide, and treats the water to put it in a near-distilled state.

According to OCWD research, the expansion of the GWRS will minimize dependency on imported water supplies and minimize any risk of water shortage in the event of a natural disaster or drought. The project will employ approximately 150 people in the development, construction and operations trade.

The project will cost $142.7 million to create and is scheduled to be finished in September 2014. It has received more than 20 awards including the Stockholm 2008 Industry Water Award for the year’s most excellent water development on an international scale.

Correction: An earlier version of this story said the project would be done this fall. It is supposed to be completed in September 2014.