President's Message
Shawn Dewane
Celebrating
80 Years: 1933-2013
80 years ago, a special legislative act by the California State Legislature established
the Orange County Water District (OCWD, District) to manage and protect the Orange
County groundwater basin in north and central Orange County, including Orange County's
rights to flows of the Santa Ana River.
Since 1933 many things have changed, but the importance of properly managing and
replenishing the groundwater basin has remained preeminent. OCWD has stayed true
to its mission to provide local water retailers with a reliable, adequate, high-quality
water supply at the lowest reasonable cost in an environmentally responsible manner.
In OCWD's 80th anniversary year, we also celebrate the 5th anniversary of the
Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS), which is operated by the District. On January
10, this world renowned project commemorated five years of recycling water in Orange
County. It was just last month that it reached 100 billion gallons of ultra-pure
water produced since going on-line in January 2008. At a time when water supplies
are threatened and the cost to provide water has increased significantly, the GWRS
guarantees Orange County with a reliable, drought-resistant, locally-controlled
supply of water of the highest quality, and reduces Southern California's demand
on water supplies from Northern California and the Colorado River.
As we commemorate 80 years and celebrate OCWD's milestones, I would like to
thank current and former OCWD directors and staff who have helped uphold our mission
and commitments to water supply and reliability, water quality, sound financial
management, leadership and innovation, and environmental stewardship.
Here's to many more years of successful groundwater management and water reuse!
The 2013 OCWD Board of Directors
At its final board meeting of 2012, the OCWD Board of Directors announced the officers
elected to serve during the 2013 term. Shawn Dewane, Division 7 representative and
a resident of Costa Mesa, was elected President. Cathy Green, Division 6 representative
and a resident of Huntington Beach, was elected 1st Vice President and Roger Yoh,
Division 3 representative and a resident of Buena Park, was elected to serve as
2nd Vice President.
Directors Yoh, Anthony, Green,
Bilodeau and Assemblyman Wagner
During the meeting Assemblyman Donald Wagner swore in four OCWD Directors who were
re-elected in the November 2012 election: Cathy Green, a resident of Huntington
Beach, representing Division 6; Denis Bilodeau, a resident of Orange, representing
Division 2; Roger Yoh, a resident of Buena Park, representing Division 3; and Philip
Anthony, a resident of Huntington Beach, representing Division 4.
Vincent Sarmiento, Esq.
This year OCWD also welcomed a new director, Vincent Sarmiento, Esq. The Santa Ana
City Council announced his appointment to OCWD's Board of Directors to represent
the city of Santa Ana, Division 8.
OCWD's Board is composed of 10 Directors – seven elected from divisions that
consist of cities throughout north and central Orange County, and three appointed
to represent the cities of Anaheim, Fullerton and Santa Ana.
OCWD Partners with Local University to Test Hybrid Equipment
The Orange County Water District collaborated with scientists at the University
of California, Riverside's (UCR) Center for Environmental Research and Technology,
which received a $2 million, two-year contract from the California Air Resources
Board (CARB) for a first-of-its-kind study of hybrid construction vehicles. The
project will allow researchers to evaluate the emission reduction benefits of two
commercially available hybrid construction vehicles: a Caterpillar bulldozer and
a Kamatsu hydraulic excavator.
As a grant partner, OCWD was awarded $175,000 in funding to purchase two hybrid
bulldozers and participate in demonstration studies under real-world operating conditions.
Bulldozers are critical to the performance of OCWD's groundwater recharge operation.
They are used to complete important activities at Forebay and Prado including leveling
the Santa Ana River channel following storm events, constructing sand levees, repairing
washouts, cleaning recharge basin sidewalls, pond maintenance and vegetation removal.
The District currently owns and operates a medium-sized fleet of Caterpillar D7
diesel bulldozers and other off-road equipment.
UCR researchers recently tested OCWD's hybrid bulldozers and preliminary results
showed it consumes 10 to 20 percent less fuel and emits 99 percent less smog-causing
emissions. OCWD is excited to be a part of this study that will provide data to
contribute to a hybrid incentive program under AB 118: a 2007 law that established
a voluntary incentive program administered by CARB to fund clean vehicle and equipment
projects, research on biofuels production and the air quality impacts of alternative
fuels, and workforce training. The research is also part of a larger CARB effort
to expand the use of hybrid technology to help meet the goals of AB 32: a 2006 state
law that requires the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.
It also calls for an 80 percent reduction below 1990 levels by 2050.
OCWD Staff Member Elected to SWMOA Board of Directors
Tom Knoell, OCWD Principal Process Specialist for the Groundwater Replenishment
System, was elected to serve as Secretary of the Southwest Membrane Operator Association
(SWMOA) for a two-year term ending in 2015. He has been a member of SWMOA since
2010 and an employee of OCWD since 1993. Tom started as an intern in the water quality
department and currently occupies a position in the GWRS research and engineering
center where he is responsible for overseeing highly technical and specialized engineering
and scientific activities that support OCWD's core activities, such as full-scale
water treatment processes and groundwater recharge operations.
The SWMOA, formed in 2006 as an affiliate of the American Membrane Technology Association
(AMTA), is dedicated to the improvement of the quality of water supplies through
reuse, desalting and other water sciences. Its members are concerned with design,
research and development, equipment manufacture, operation and maintenance, environmental
regulations and legislation. OCWD is a member agency of the SWMOA and one of the
founding members of the AMTA.
Congratulations Tom!
OCWD Employee of the Year
The OCWD employee of the month and year program was established to recognize outstanding
District employees and to acknowledge their contributions to OCWD. The program commends
employees for high-quality work, promoting team work, cost saving ideas and a high
level of dedication to their work. The District recognizes that OCWD employees are
the source of its strength, reputation and innovation.
To earn the designation of employee of the year, the candidate must have been chosen
as employee of the month during the respective year. Senior Engineer Nate Scheevel,
P.E., was the January Employee of the Month and was selected as the 2012 Employee
of the Year.
Nate is a valuable member of the engineering department and has taken the lead on
several critical projects including Five Coves, the Imperial Rubber Dam, the Lakeview
Transfer Structure and Kraemer Phase II Piping. He always goes above and beyond,
is well respected by his colleagues, takes the initiative and displays a positive
attitude.
Congratulations Nate and thank you for your service to the District!
Welcome New OCWD Employee
In mid-December Taran Missan became a member of the OCWD family. He works as an
intern in the Advanced Water Quality Assurance Laboratory. Taran is a first-year
student at Chapman University.
Welcome Taran!
Save the Date! OC Water Summit
The 6th Annual O.C. Water Summit will take place on Friday, May 17, 2013 at the
Grand Californian Hotel at the Disneyland Resort. The program will feature prominent
national and state policy makers, elected officials, scientists, financial experts
and business leaders. More than 500 stakeholders will attend the event, which is
hosted by Orange County Water District, Disneyland Resort and the Municipal Water
District of Orange County. Please visit
www.ocwatersummit.com
to register, sponsor and read more about the event.
2012 December Tours
OCWD would like to thank its December tour guests, which included hydrogeology students
from California State University, Fullerton; Cal Poly Pomona landscape architecture
students; staff from Shandong Water Resources, China; Celeste Cantu, Santa Ana Water
Project Authority General Manager, and Bob Deen, Association of California Water
Agencies' Integrated Regional Water Management Plan Committee Chair; a delegation
from Korea; engineering staff from Orange County Sanitation District and an engineering
student from the University of California, Irvine; a group representing Brea-Olinda
and Saddleback high school districts and nursing students from California State
University, Fullerton.
Public tours of the Groundwater Replenishment System are offered at
10 a.m. on the first Friday of every month; reservations are required. Tours may be scheduled for other days of the week, depending on staff availability. To schedule a tour or to request more information, please contact Becky Mudd at (714) 378-3362 or
bmudd@ocwd.com. To schedule a speaker, please contact Rose Wilke at (714) 378-3206 or
rwilke@ocwd.com. You may also visit
www.ocwd.com to schedule these activities online.
CONTACT US
www.ocwd.com
18700 Ward Street
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
(714) 378-3200
info@ocwd.com
You are receiving this email from the Orange County Water District. If you would like to be removed from OCWD's email list, please respond to this email with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line. Thank you.