President's Message – State Water Bond Can Help O.C. Drought Crisis
We are currently experiencing the worst California drought ever recorded in 165
years, with no end in sight. According to one NASA scientist, if we don't take
measures to conserve water now, it may run out for the 38 million people, businesses
and agriculture in this state.
Recently, the Governor has called for mandatory—no longer voluntary—water-use efficiency.
We need to save 25 percent. What else can be done?
Luckily, the good people of the state approved the Water Quality, Supply and Infrastructure
Act of 2014 (Water Bond; Proposition 1) in last year's election.
Read More...
Register for the 2015 OC Water Summit
Rain today, gone tomorrow? Droughts in California are expected to occur three out
of every 10 years. Without proper planning and investment in water infrastructure
and policy, California's $1.9 trillion economy can come to a standstill, having
devastating ripple effects on U.S. and global markets. Join us for the 8th Annual
Orange County Water Summit on May 15 from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. to set imagination,
innovation and investment into motion to keep water flowing.
The annual OC Water Summit will take place at the Grand Californian Hotel at the
Disneyland Resort. To register as a participant or sponsor, visit the
Orange County Water Summit
website.
Read More...
OCWD Receives ASCE OC Flood Management Project of the Year Award
(left to right) Penny Lew, PE, OCPW and past president ASCE OC; OCWD Assistant Director
of Engineering Chris Olsen, PE; and Tapas Dutta, PE, ENV SP, QSD, Harris & Associates
and past president ASCE OC.
The American Society of Civil Engineers Orange County, California Branch (ASCE OC)
honored the Orange County Water District's (OCWD; the District) Burris Pump
Station Project, Phase 1 with the
Flood Management Project of the
Year award. More than 200 people were in attendance at its annual awards
banquet as ASCE OC honored outstanding individuals and projects for 2014. A total
of 35 awards were given out, including 21 project awards and 14 individual awards.
Read More...
19th Annual Children's Water Education Festival a Great Success!
The 19th annual Children's Water Education Festival was a success! More than
7,000 third, fourth and fifth grade Orange County students attended the free field
trip to learn about water and the environment; curriculum corresponded to California
Science Standards.
The Orange County Water District's Groundwater Guardian Team, which includes
OCWD, Disneyland Resort and the National Water Research Institute (NWRI), hosted
the event on March 25 and 26, 2015 at the University of California, Irvine (UCI).
Read More...
Groundwater Management Act 2015 Draft Ready for Public Review
The OCWD Draft Groundwater Management Act 2015 Update is available for public review
and comment. The draft plan may be viewed on the District's website,
www.ocwd.com. Copies may be obtained by submitting
a written request to Orange County Water District, P.O. Box 8300, Fountain Valley,
CA 92728-8300, Attn: Marsha Westropp. Written comments submitted to either the District's
post office box or via email at mwestropp@ocwd.com
will be accepted until May 22, 2015.
Read More...
Celebrate 45th Annual Earth Day on April 22
Bringing the poverty, development, climate and sustainability communities together
to build a broader and more inclusive global movement is the theme of this year's
Earth Day on Wednesday, April 22.
Earth Day has grown from a single-day event to a year-round movement to promote
sustainability. It is celebrating its 45th year in 2015.
Read More...
OCWD Desal Citizens Advisory Committee Meetings Underway
The OCWD Ocean Desalination Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC), which was recently
appointed by the Orange County Water District Board, gathered for two meetings and
is expected to meet again on April 23 and 30. Members were shown presentations about
Orange County's water supply and the District's role in fulfilling the water
needs of 2.4 million homes and businesses in central and north Orange County, a
summary of the various components of the proposed Huntington Beach Desalination
project and a breakdown of the main parts of a draft term sheet. The term sheet
outlines the basic terms and conditions of a potential 50-year business agreement
that would have OCWD purchase 50 million gallons of desalinated water per day from
the Poseidon Resources facility in Huntington Beach. This would provide enough water
for more than 150,000 Orange County households per year.
The Committee came to a consensus that its role for the four scheduled meetings
was to provide input on the proposed term sheet only. They then went through each
of the individual terms and allowed input and discussion on each term. Upon completion
of their meetings, the committee facilitator will compile a summary of the committee's
comments for the OCWD Board of Directors.
Recordings
of the CAC meetings are available to the public and meeting information is located
on the
Orange County Water District
website.
Board members are scheduled to vote on the term sheet at the May 14th OCWD Board
meeting.
DesalTech 2015 Program and Registration Now Available
Registration for the International Conference on Emerging Water Desalination Technologies
in Municipal and Industrial Applications (DesalTech 2015) is now open. DesalTech
will be held August 28 -29, 2015, and is co-located with the 2015 IDA World Congress
at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. This new conference
focuses on innovative research in emerging seawater or brackish water desalination
technologies.
Read More...
Out in the Community
As part of its standard to forge and maintain long-term, positive and proactive
relationships with members of the community and be transparent about its operations
and programs, OCWD board members and staff participate, regularly, at community
events and speak before civic groups. Below are a few we participated in during
March.
- President Cathy Green provided a presentation to the Huntington Beach Coordinating
Council about Orange County's groundwater supplies and challenges.
- OCWD General Manager Mike Markus gave a presentation to the Yorba Linda Water
District Board of Directors regarding the groundwater contamination projects in
both the North Basin and South Basin.
OCWD Employees
OCWD's employees are its most valuable resources. It is committed to recruiting
the best and enriching their lives to grow within the water industry and the District
family.
Pedro Barrera - Employee of the Quarter
Maintenance Technician Pedro Barrera is a person setting a positive example for
others to follow. His daily task list is long, especially a few months back when
he was the "Lone Ranger" of Utility Technicians in the Maintenance Department.
Even with the extra work load, it didn't change his can-do attitude. Although
he was working solo, he was tasked with many duties, including meeting setup requests,
landscape maintenance and a long list of housekeeping chores; Pedro does it all
with a professional and courteous manner. Pedro also receives numerous last minute
requests, from meeting overflow set-ups and finding/placing additional flags for
official visits to replacing burned out lights and, no matter the circumstance,
he is cooperative and helpful. Pedro received a promotion to Maintenance Technician
I at the end of last year. His positivity, work ethic and upbeat attitude illustrate
why Pedro is the well-deserved recipient for OCWD Employee of the Quarter. Congratulations
Pedro!
March Tours
Thank you to the more than 300 guests that toured OCWD's facilities in March:
Exchange students from Shibaura Institute in Japan, in association with the University
of California, Irvine (UCI); nursing students from California State University,
Fullerton (CSUF); students from Huntington Beach High School; health science students
from CSUF; students from CSUF's extended education program; nursing students from
West Coast University; students from El Modena High School; students from a sustainability
class at California State University, Long Beach; students from West Coast University;
UCI extension program students; seniors with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
at UCI; and members of the general public.
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.