Will Orange County's Congress Members Support Critical County Water Projects?

Representatives from Irvine Ranch Water District, Mesa Consolidated Water District, San Juan Capistrano, the Municipal Water District of Orange County and the County of Orange met with Representatives Loretta Sanchez, Ed Royce and Ken Calvert to discuss crucial water projects in Orange County.  Representatives John Campbell, Gary Miller and Dana Rohrbacher sent staff to the meeting.

This issue needs to be watched because how badly the Orange County delegation is in bringing home money to their districts. For instance, Rep. Sanchez brought in the  bucks for dredge the Newport back bay even though the project is in Rep. John Campbell's district.  The Orange County Business Council (OCBC) recently pointed out in an OC Register article that Orange County received $439 per capita in stimulus money compared to $687 for Los Angeles County and $8021 for Sacramento.

The projects that need federal money are:  

• Syphon Reservoir Project at Irvine Ranch Water District (IRWD) - $7.5-$10 million needed to convert the facility from seasonal to year round use.  $40-$50 million is needed to increase the storage capacity from 500 acre feet to 5000 acre feet.  The reservoir is currently used for irrigation water and would be used for recycled water once the work is completed.
• IRWD is seeking to use Clean Renewable Water Supply bonds (CREWS) to finance water recycling, desalination and groundwater contamination clean up projects.
• Mesa Consolidated Water District (MCWD) wants $1 million to upgrade the Colored Water Treatment Facility which uses ozone and biofiltration to remove a sulfur smell and amber color from groundwater to make the water drinkable.

Municipal Water District of Orange County (MWDOC) is asking for $1.3 million for the South Orange  Coastal Ocean Desalination project using a subsurface intake well off the shore of Dana Point.

MWDOC also requested $500,000 for the continued rollout of the Smart Irrigation Controller Program.

San Juan Capistrano www.ois asking for $9 million for the San Juan Capistrano Ground Water Recovery Plant Expansion and Regional Domestic Distribution Facility and the San Juan Capistrano Recycled Water System.

Orange County is seeking $91.2 million for the Santa Ana River Mainstem Project, the Aliso Creek Stabilization Project, Westminster-East Garden Grove Watershed Study and the San Juan Creek Watershed Study. 

The paper from MWDOC with more details is available here Download CongressionalMoneyRequests