President's Message
Shawn Dewane
The Orange County Water Summit has become a signature water community event. This
year's 6th annual Summit will take place at the Grand Californian Hotel at the
Disneyland Resort on Friday, May 17, 2013 from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Please join
us for this innovative, interactive forum, which is co-hosted by Orange County Water
District, Municipal Water District of Orange County and Disneyland Resort.
This year's summit theme is "The Classic Tale of Water Past, Present, and Yet
to Come." It will examine and evaluate our past investments in water infrastructure
and related natural
resource projects, identify new potential projects to meet future demand, and discuss
the challenges and benefits of creating public-private financial partnerships to
invest in future water reliability. The event includes networking opportunities
for financial professionals and firms to engage with general managers, executive
management and elected officials who are making key decisions about multi-million
dollar infrastructure projects in California. Nearly 500 attendees are expected
including Southern California business professionals, international, national and
state water industry stakeholders, elected officials, environmentalists, scientists
and community leaders.
An engaging program has been planned that includes speakers such as Peter McBride,
co-author of "The Colorado River: Flowing Through Conflict" (2010) and director
of "Chasing Water." To view the full program, sponsor the event or register to attend,
please visit
. I hope to see
you there!
EPA GUIDELINES FOR WATER REUSE
The 2012 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Guidelines for Water Reuse were
recently published. More than 300 reuse experts, practitioners, and regulators contributed
text, technical reviews, regulatory information, and case studies. The Groundwater
Replenishment
System (GWRS) is featured in one case study and weaved throughout pertinent sections
of the guidelines. The case study was prepared by OCWD staff: General Manager Mike
Markus, GWRS Program Manager Mehul Patel and Director of Water Production Bill Dunivin.
The document's primary purpose is to facilitate further development of water
reuse by serving as an authoritative reference on water reuse practices. It updates
and builds on the 2004 Guidelines for Water Reuse by incorporating information on
water reuse that has been developed since the 2004 document was issued. It includes
an updated overview of regulations and guidelines addressing water reuse, regulatory
frameworks, advances in wastewater treatment technologies relevant to reuse, best
practices, more than 100 new case studies from around the world that highlight how
reuse applications can and do work in the real world and much more. You may view
the published document at
http://nepis.epa.gov/Adobe/PDF/P100FS7K.pdf.
THE MESA WATER RELIABILITY FACILITY
Mesa Water District (Mesa Water) provides water service to more than 110,000 customers
in an 18-square-mile area. Its service area includes the City of Costa Mesa, parts
of Newport Beach, and some unincorporated sections of Orange County, including the
John Wayne Airport.
Mesa Water recently completed the upgrade of its water treatment facility formerly
called the Colored Water Treatment Facility and renamed the Mesa Water Reliability
Facility (MWRF). The award-winning project finished on time, in two years, and under
budget. Its additional output helps the District reach the Mesa Water Board's
long-standing vision of providing 100 percent of customers' water needs with
local water supplies.
The MWRF pumps amber-colored water from the lowest depths of Orange County's
Groundwater Basin and treats it for use by Mesa Water customers. The project expanded
the 11-year-old treatment facility's capacity from 5.8 million gallons per day
to 8.6 million gallons per day, increasing water production by 50 percent. In addition
to the new nanofiltration technology and two refurbished wells, the improved MWRF
now includes beautiful new landscaping with a 15,000-square-foot demonstration garden
that serves as an educational element. Thirty-minute guided tours of the MWRF and
garden will soon be available. Visit
www.MesaWater.org/mwrf, email
info@MesaWater.org,
or call (949) 631-1201 for more details.
WYLAND FOUNDATIONS' NATIONAL MAYOR'S CHALLENGE FOR WATER CONSERVATION
In the state of California, nearly 20 percent of all energy consumption goes toward
moving, cleaning and heating water. The value of water conservation has enormous
benefits to local economies and the environment. The Wyland Foundation, in partnership
with Toyota, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Forest Service and the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is hosting its second annual National
Mayor's Challenge for Water Conservation from April 1-30, 2013.
The challenge is a friendly, community-based competition between cities across the
nation to see who can be the most "water wise." To participate is easy. Residents
can go online to
www.mywaterpledge.com
from April 1-30, 2013, enter their city name, and then make online pledges to conserve
water, save energy, and reduce pollution on behalf of their city. Cities will compete
in the following population categories for 2013: (5,000-30,000 residents; 30,000
-100,000 residents; 100,000-300,000; 300,000-600,000; and 600,000+ residents). The
city with the highest percentage of residents who take the challenge in their population
category wins. Prizes include a Toyota Prius, water-saving home products, and more.
Last year, the challenge awarded more than $50,000 in prizes to 1,200 residents
in U.S. cities. But, most importantly, participants saw real results based on simple
actions they did to save water and energy. Residents from 1,000 cities in all 50
states made online pledges to save a total of 4.7 billion gallons of water in 2012,
with a potential cost savings of $11.6 million. Residents further pledged to reduce
their use of single-use plastic water bottles by 1.1 million bottles and eliminate
60,000 pounds of hazardous waste from entering watersheds.
The Wyland Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting, protecting,
and preserving the world's ocean, waterways, and marine life. The foundation has
been a longstanding presenter at the OCWD and Disneyland Resort's Children's
Water Education Festival and encourages environmental awareness through education
programs, public arts projects, and community events. To learn more about Wyland,
visit
www.wylandfoundation.org.
OCWD STAFF ELECTED PRESIDENT OF SARBS
OCWD Lead Maintenance Technician Bob Phillips was elected President of the Santa
Ana River Basin Section (SARBS) of the California Water and Environment Association
(CWEA). Bob has worked at OCWD in the water production department since 2007 and
has been an active member of SARBS.
SARBS' mission is to enhance the education and technology to protect the quality
of our water resources and to promote the ecological balance with the environment's
other resources such as land and air. Its CWEA section supports a wide range of
training and professional certifications in maintenance technology, instrumentation
and electrical, laboratory analysis, environmental compliance and other areas. Please
visit
www.cwea.org/sarbs
for more information about the organization.
OCWD STAFF APPOINTED TO PRSA BOARD
Gina DePinto was appointed to serve on the Board of Directors for the Orange County
chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) as Chair of the Advocacy
Committee. PRSA is the world's largest and foremost organization of public relations
professionals. It provides professional development, sets standards of excellence
and upholds principles of ethics for its members and, more broadly, the multi-billion
dollar global public relations profession. Gina has been a member of PRSA off and
on for more than 20 years.
Gina is also seeking her Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) administered through
PRSA and the Universal Accreditation Board (UAB). Less than 20 percent of all public
relations practitioners in the U.S. have earned an APR designation. Becoming accredited
assures that a certain standard of quality is met. In a profession where licensure
is not required and many people practice public relations without knowing key competencies
and appropriate ethical guidelines for decision-making, earning the APR credential
communicates that one has the requisite knowledge for principled public relations
expertise and proficiency.
MARCH EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH
The OCWD employee of the month (EOM) program was established to recognize outstanding
District employees and to acknowledge their contributions to OCWD. The program recognizes
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.
Mark Yamamoto was recognized as the March EOM. He is a supervising chemist in OCWD's
Advanced Water Quality Assurance Laboratory. Mark has demonstrated excellence by
helping the laboratory improve the performance of its mission to support the Groundwater
Replenishment System, groundwater producers and the groundwater basin monitoring
programs through his effective management of the Laboratory Information Management
System (LIMS). Through this system Mark also provides critical support for the Unregulated
Contaminant Monitoring Rule 3 (UCMR3) program mandated by USEPA. Mark has gone above
and beyond to update LIMS and ensure its data and reports are accurate. Congratulations
Mark!
FEBRUARY TOURS
In February there were 13 tours hosted for approximately 206 guests. Tours included
the GWRS monthly public tour; staff from the Mojave Water Agency; staff from the
Costa Mesa Sanitary District; newly elected board members and alternates from the
Orange County Sanitation District; a group of 80 environmental science students
from Brea Olinda High School; a group of Japanese executives from Toray Industries;
a group of 25 attendees from the ACWA/JPIA Southern California Human Resources Group;
health science students from California State University, Fullerton; a delegation
of Chinese water managers; staff from Disneyland Resort's Horticulture department;
California State University, Fullerton Extended Education Program and a group of
15 engineers and internet technology executives from Russia; and Michael J. Carroll,
a partner at Latham & Watkins, LLP and the global Co-Chair of Latham's Energy
and Infrastructure Project Siting and Defense Practice.
To schedule a tour or to request more information, please contact Becky Mudd at
(714) 378-3362 or
. You may also
visit
.