Orange County Water Agencies Brief California Resources Agency Secretary John Laird

Townsend Public Affairs facilitated a visit by Natural Resources Secretary John Laird with the Municipal Water District of Orange County, Orange County Sanitation District, and Orange County Water District. Collectively, the three regional entities provide water and wastewater service to over 2.8 million Orange County residents. Secretary Laird was able to tour the Orange County Sanitation District and the Orange County Water District facilities and receive a detailed briefing from the Municipal Water District of Orange County about their agency. Secretary Laird also had the opportunity to tour the Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS).

The design and construction of the GWRS was a project jointly-funded by the Orange County Water District and the Orange County Sanitation District. These two public agencies have worked together for more than 30 years leading the way in water recycling and providing a locally-controlled, drought-proof and reliable supply of high-quality water in an environmentally sensitive and economical manner.

The Municipal Water District of Orange County spoke to the Secretary about their development of the South Orange Coastal Ocean Desalination Project This project would decrease the area’s dependence upon imported drinking water supplies, as south Orange County depends on water imported from northern California and the Colorado River to meet approximately 95 percent of its local demand. This new, local water supply would also benefit the area during emergencies and outages of the regional imported water delivery system.