President's Message - California's Drought Challenges
Run Deep
This past year was the driest year on record. On January 17, 2014, Governor Brown
declared a drought emergency and asked that all Californians voluntarily reduce
their water use by 20 percent.
Then, the State Water Resources Control Board approved an emergency regulation aimed
at reducing outdoor water use that went into effect in August. This regulation will
be enforced at the discretion of local water retailers, who can issue fines of up
to $500 for violations.
The giant water-main break near the UCLA campus, due to aged infrastructure, spewed
more than 20 million gallons, enough to supply about 43,000 families of four with
drinking water for a day. That deluge only aggravated the drought issue in the minds
of the California public.
Recent flash storms have been welcome, but have given no relief to the drought of
the century.
How dire is our situation? The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California,
which supplies imported water from the north to supplement our groundwater basin,
has total supplies of 1,038,000 acre feet (AF) and estimated demands of 2,117,000
AF for the year 2014. That is an estimated net water balance of -1,079,000AF. They
have met this deficit by taking half the amount of water they have had in storage.
We've all experienced electricity brown-outs and black-outs, but we really don't
want to get to the point of ever having to ration drinking water.
We can all do our part to conserve:
- Stop excess irrigation and runoff
- Water lawns only as needed and during early morning hours or late evenings
- Landscape with native and/or drought-tolerant plants
- Serve water only when requested at restaurants
- Check for leaks
- Do something as simple as turning the water off when you brush your teeth
Your local water provider has some great tips and incentive programs to help our
region be more water efficient. Each water provider also has its own set of regulations
and enforcements to comply with the statewide mandate. Go to the
Drought 2014
page for a list of local water retailers' websites to learn more about conservation
tips, available rebates, and the mandates and restrictions in your area.
What is the Orange County Water District Doing? The District
has planned ahead by purchasing imported water over the past three years to recharge
its basin, by investing in the Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS) that creates
new water, and by investing in the initial expansion of the GWRS that will produce
an additional 30 million gallons a day and go online in early 2015.
We have also invested significantly in our infrastructure over the years so we avoid
incidents like the one near UCLA.
While the state and country is grappling with unstable infrastructure, some as old
as 100 years or more, OCWD's oldest pipelines are less than 40 years old. To
put this in perspective, a conservative lifetime of pipes is about 80 years. We
also have cathodic protection systems on our pipelines to monitor for corrosion.
Each pipeline undergoes a cathodic test at least every three years.
In addition to having newer infrastructure, the District's Board created a refurbishment
and replacement fund, which provides the necessary money to repair our assets and
replace them at the end of their useful lifetime.
Continuous planning, designing, building, monitoring, and operation of cost-effective
water infrastructure projects have continued to be core functions of OCWD since
its inception in 1933. In looking to the future, we will see still another GWRS
expansion phase, increased treatment efficiency, improved percolation methods, and
even better preparation to meet the challenges of extreme weather on local and imported
supplies. The District will continue researching and expanding our water supply
portfolio that might include seawater desalination and additional stormwater capture,
among others.
While there is no immediate danger of water supply interruptions here in Orange
County, we must continue to use our water supplies as efficiently as possible. We
see water-use efficiency as a lifelong commitment because we live in an area of
cyclical droughts and we never know how long each drought will last.
Recharge Basin Cleaning - Maximizing Region's Stormwater Capture
The District's effectiveness at capturing and percolating water into its recharge
basins has evolved over the decades and is continuously being improved.
OCWD is currently in the process of seasonal basin cleaning, a maintenance program
that removes the thin clogging layer of silt left at the bottom of each of the region's
20 recharge basins owned, managed and operated by OCWD. These storage facilities
cover more than 1,000 acres in Anaheim and Orange.
Removal of that silt is primarily a construction operation performed using heavy
grading equipment such as bulldozers, scrapers and motor graders. The frequency
of cleaning depends on the quality of the water being recharged or replaced. Not
surprisingly, the ultrapure GWRS recycled water requires the least maintenance allowing
for recharge basin runtimes between cleanings of up to two years. The District also
refills the recharge basins with imported water, Santa Ana River (SAR) base flows
and stormwater. While SAR base flows and stormwater supplies are the least expensive,
their quality causes more silt to build up in the basins, requiring more frequent
basin cleanings.
This is all part of an aggressive approach to groundwater recharge that has evolved
into an extremely effective system for maximizing the capture and replacement of
limited water resources in our area.
Basin maintenance is an integral part to replacing water that is pumped from the
Orange County Groundwater Basin from about 200 wells belonging to local water agencies,
cities and other groundwater users in the Orange County region.
Celebrated Water Days and the OCWD Lab
OCWD's Advanced Water Quality Assurance Laboratory celebrates and engages in
water quality on a daily basis. Because August is National Water
Quality Month, and September 9 is Protect Your Groundwater
Day, it seemed a fitting time to let you know a little more about its
efforts.
The laboratory is certified and audited by the State Water Resources Control Board
through the Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program and the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). It is also one of only three public agency
labs in the nation to provide a full Unregulated Contaminants Monitoring Rule (UCMR)
3 program, which is certified by the USEPA for 7 EPA methods, which include 28 trace
contaminants and chemicals of emerging concern (CECs).
The District tests for more than 500 compounds, many more than the 103 required
by state and federal governments. It analyzes more than 20,000 samples each year
and reports more than 400,000 results. OCWD also provides regional testing of drinking
water wells for 19 local water providers to help them meet reporting requirements
mandated by the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Think of the District's accomplishments this way: OCWD can monitor contaminants
in its groundwater basin down to a part-per-trillion. That is like looking for one
drop of contaminant in a volume of water large enough to fill 26 Olympic-size pools
- a rather remarkable feat!
OCWD has taken proactive measures to ensure high-quality and safe drinking water
through monitoring, participating in studies, forming work groups, and collaborating
with agencies around the world to address and study water quality issues further.
New Hexavalent Chromium Regulation
In June, the Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (ELAP) for the state
of California began certifying laboratories for Hexavalent Chromium testing by the
newer EPA Method 218.7 and OCWD's laboratory is in the process of seeking that
certification.
The new 218.7 method offers distinct advantages over the 20-year-old 218.6 method.
These include allowing for greater sampling and analytical flexibility with the
batching of sample loads for increased efficiency and turnaround time of results.
In addition, the newer method allows for a new threshold in sample pH (8 or greater)
that is more easily attainable.
It's worth noting that while the California state detectable reporting limit
(DLR) is set at 1 parts per billion for hexavalent chromium, the laboratory is capable
of detecting 10 - 20 parts per trillion with both methods it currently uses. "In
going forward, the addition of this method, to those of which OCWD is already certified,
will be a definite plus for the District, resulting in more operational efficiencies,"
says Lee Yoo, OCWD Laboratory Director.
Regional Water Education Center Coming Soon
Notice anything different at the OCWD Fountain Valley headquarters? Demolition in
the Administrative Building hallway has taken place to make room for the new Water
Education Center. It will be a hands-on series of exhibits that will guide participants
through the history of water in California and the Orange County region, current
production facilities and above- and below-ground features of the 350-square mile
Orange County Groundwater Basin that serves 2.4 million residents. The interactive
project, a collaboration of OCWD with Discovery Cube (formerly Discovery Science
Center), Cinnabar, and NeWater Resources, is set to debut in early 2015. The interactive
displays will become an integral part of school education and vocational training
programs and the OCWD tour.
Save the Date for OCWD's Groundwater Adventure Tour
The Orange County Water District has provided a reliable source of water to north
and central O.C. for more than 80 years. JOIN US on a tour of the District's
facilities to learn about YOUR region's water supplies and how they are managed
in an environmentally, scientifically and financially sound manner. It will take
place October 23rd. Stay tuned for sign-up information in the next Hydrospectives.
For information contact Crystal Nettles at cnettles@ocwd.com.
Please note that priority will be given to individuals who have not previously attended.
Prado Operations Update
The Santa Ana River starts in the San Bernardino Mountains and flows through the
Prado Basin to the ocean.
OCWD owns 2,150 acres behind Prado Dam in Riverside County where it operates the
Prado Wetlands, the largest constructed wetland on the U.S. West Coast. The wetlands
naturally remove nitrates and other contaminants from Santa Ana River flows.
Four water quality monitoring stations were recently installed at the Prado Wetlands
to provide data logging and Internet uplink as part of the National Science Foundation
(NSF) Engineering Research Center (ERC) / OCWD Prado Open Water Unit Process (POWUP)
wetlands treatment project. The stations will record values before treatment and
at the outlet of each of three treatment cells. The data will eventually be available
on-line via the Internet.
The Engineering Research Center is an interdisciplinary, multi-institution research
center whose goal is to change the ways in which we manage urban water. Member research
institutions are Stanford University, UC Berkeley, Colorado School of Mines, and
New Mexico State University. OCWD is proud to partner with such distinguished scholars
on this project.
Out in the Community
OCWD staff continues to be sought after for its expertise in water reuse and groundwater
management.
- Assistant General Manager Mike Wehner recently participated
in a National Science Foundation (NSF)-sponsored workshop on treatment requirements
for potable reuse held in Austin, Texas. The workshop was managed by the National
Water Research Institute and brought together experts from California, Texas and
Arizona as well as representatives of the WateReuse Research Foundation, Water Research
Foundation, USEPA, and state regulators from California and Texas. One of the key
drivers for the workshop was the speed with which direct potable reuse is being
developed in the State of Texas due to the current drought.
- Eleanor Torres, Director of Public Affairs, also participated
on the Independent Advisory Panel of the El Paso Water Utilities Advanced Purified
Water Plant as well as the Project Advisory Committee for the WateReuse Research
Foundation's research project titled Model Communication Plan for Advancing
Direct Potable Reuse.
- General Manager Mike Markus, Executive Director of Planning and Natural Resources
Greg Woodside, and Recharge Planning Manager Adam Hutchinson have been working closely
with the California Water Foundation, the Groundwater Resources Agency and Governor
Brown's office to help create a statewide groundwater management plan. OCWD
is the first and oldest special water district created by the California legislature
to manage the region's groundwater basin. OCWD experts have been asked to engage
and offer advice on how to better manage and sustain California's groundwater
supplies.
In the News
OCWD continues to make news for its leadership and innovation:
New Employees for July 2014
OCWD's employees are its most valuable resources. We are committed to recruiting
the best and enriching their lives to grow within the industry and the District
family. Please join us in welcoming the following new employees:
Jeremy Evans, Apprentice Diesel Mechanic (FHQ)
Ryan Bouley, Principal Engineer
Gabrielle Lee, Laboratory Intern
July Tours
Assistant General Manager Mike Wehner, Water Production Director Bill Dunivin and
OCWD Laboratory Director Lee Yoo provided a briefing and tour of the GWRS and the
Laboratory for the Manager of Water Treatment Operations for Metropolitan Water
District of Southern California (MWD) and the managers of each of the MWD treatment
plants.
Additional tours in the month of July included members of the Groundwater Professionals
Convention, who toured Fountain Valley and Forebay facilities; Irvine Ranch Water
District representatives, large delegations from the cities of San Diego and Los
Alamitos and LADWP stakeholders; a member of the State Water Resources Control Board;
students from University of California (UC), Irvine; Senator Mimi Walters' staff
and interns; West Coast University nursing students; Cinnabar staff; nursing students
from California State University, Fullerton; high school students from the Solar
Science Academy; students from Moreno Valley College; members of Kyoto Sangyo University/UC
Riverside; students from Godinez Fundamental High School; and other members of the
public.
Senior Engineer Lo Tan also conducted bilingual GWRS and laboratory tours to a delegation
of faculty members from universities throughout China and a delegation from China
Renming University.
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
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