MWDOC Newsletter
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Message from the President
By Joan C. Finnegan, MWDOC Board President
May is Water Awareness Month. Water is something that, as a society, we take for granted. It is highly regulated, legislated, and fought over. Mark Twain said it best when he said, “Whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting.” And, in the West, this has been particularly true. Similarly, water on the international level is subject to conflict; but that conflict is often driven by scarcity and cleanliness. Did you know that one out of every six people in the world do not have access to clean, safe water? In fact, more people worldwide have cellular telephone service than have access to clean, safe water. Water Awareness is more than a month; it should be a part of our everyday life.
The Municipal Water District of Orange County (MWDOC) and the family of Orange County Water Agencies are committed to raising public awareness of water-related issues year round. MWDOC does this through a number of programs including its water education school program in partnership with the Discovery Science Center, its Water Policy Dinners, public outreach, and the annual Orange County Water Summit (Summit) in partnership with Orange County Water District and The Disneyland Resort. This year’s Summit was held on May 20th at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel. Presentations have been posted at http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=xr8waecab&et=1105689018621&s=11443&e=001ZBYd0YJCKCIN2yvzM4HEY2nL2nQpKyWu6p3qvhxjiHcYa_r-9QOmLRJDKdFCUNt28uvmzmonIIWWXqgTVhjipjd2Lr9j3-pCgI0ASKaEqBKYz0e1Tyg4Uw==. Photos and video clips will soon follow. At 7:30 a.m. on the first Friday of every month, policy makers and community leaders gather at MWDOC for the Water Advisory Committee of Orange County (WACO) which hosts guest speakers with expertise on water management, water resource development, legislation, regulation, and numerous other areas specializing in water. If you have not joined this engaging group in the past, please consider it. The next WACO meeting is on Friday, June 3rd, and will feature Byron Buck, Executive Director of the State & Federal Contractors Water Agency.
Improving our overall water use efficiency as a region is also part of building awareness. Information, tools, and rebates for improving residential, commercial and industrial water use efficiencies are available on MWDOC’s website, http://www.mwdoc.com/.
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The Value of Water Brought to Focus at the O.C. Water Summit
By Gina DePinto, Principal Communications Specialist, Orange County Water District
By Gina DePinto, Principal Communications Specialist, Orange County Water District
On Friday, May 20, more than 400 people attended the 4th annual Orange County Water Summit (Summit) and heard dynamic presentations and engaging discussions about the value of water, seismic risks to California’s water supplies, the need for new and improved infrastructure, and what it takes to build water infrastructure projects during today’s tough economic times. Presented by the Orange County Water District, Municipal Water District of Orange County and the Disneyland Resort with Title Sponsor Siemens Water Technology Corp., the O.C. Water Summit brought experts from across the country together with Southern California business professionals, water industry stakeholders, elected officials, and community leaders to discuss ongoing state water issues.
The theme of this year’s Summit was “California’s Extreme Water Makeover.” Many people think of the “Big One” as an earthquake, but one of California’s most fragile fault lines is its main water delivery system that moves water from Northern California to parts of the Central Valley, the Bay area, and Southern California. One major earthquake or heavy storm could cause levees along the delivery system to break, allowing ocean water to rush into the Sacramento-San Joaquin River and contaminate water supplies, as well as potentially cutting off the delivery of water to many parts of California. For decades, blueprints to fix California’s lifeline have been drafted and debated. If and when a plan comes together that decision makers can agree on, how can California get it financed in the face of budget cuts, especially when water is a resource that is taken for granted and is highly undervalued?
Click here to read more about the OC Water Summit.
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Legislation Proposing Statewide Water Fee "Parked" in Senate for Additional Work
By David J. Cordero, MWDOC Director of Government Affairs
By David J. Cordero, MWDOC Director of Government Affairs
Proposed legislation that would create a statewide fee to fund water projects and programs that provide public benefits advanced to the Senate Appropriations Committee this month, where it will remain and become a “two-year bill” so that the author may work with stakeholders and others to address issues and concerns later this year.
The March issue of eCurrents introduced its readers to Senate Bill 34 by Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto). The bill would establish a statewide fee to provide a sustainable revenue source to fund water projects and programs that provide state and regional “public benefits.” The proposed, but yet-to-be-determined, fee amounts would be assessed to urban retail and agricultural water suppliers on a per-acre-foot and per-irrigated acre basis respectively. The California Board of Equalization would be responsible for collecting the fee and depositing the revenue into a new California Water Resources Investment Fund. Half of the revenue would be deposited in a State Investment Account and the other half would be deposited into Regional Investment Accounts.
Funds disbursed from the State Investment Account would be under the jurisdiction of the California Water Commission. Direct expenditures and grant disbursements would be handled on an annual basis in consultation with various state agencies and include:
- Operating expenses of the Delta Stewardship Council;
- Grants and expenditures to implement the Delta Stewardship Council’s Delta Plan;
- Projects of “statewide and interregional significance;”
- Projects that reduce the impacts of mercury contamination in the Delta watershed;
- Scientific studies and assessments; and
- Debt service on general obligation bonds for projects and programs that provide statewide and interregional significance.
Click here to read more about the statewide water fee proposed in SB 34 (Simitian).
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Winter Weather Improves Water Supply Conditions; Mandatory Water Reductions Lifted.
By Warren Greco, MWDOC Water Resource Analyst
By Warren Greco, MWDOC Water Resource Analyst
After nearly two years of mandatory water supply reductions, full imported water deliveries have been restored to residents and businesses in Southern California. On April 13, 2011, the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (Metropolitan) voted to end its Water Supply Allocation Plan for its 26 member agencies, which encompass 19 million people from Ventura to San Diego Counties. This step by Metropolitan made it possible for the Municipal Water District of Orange County (MWDOC) to end the supply allocation plan that it had adopted for its service area in July 2009.
Metropolitan adopted mandatory water use reductions two summers ago, as water supplies were heavily constrained following both a multi-year drought and pumping restrictions being imposed in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Bay-Delta) to protect endangered fish species. The action to lift the Water Supply Allocation Plan was made possible by storms this past winter, as well as the continued water use efficiency efforts by residents and businesses.
This season, many parts of California have experienced near record amounts of rainfall and snowpack, and imported water supplies have improved significantly from the previous three years. Locally, Orange County has received around 21 inches of rainfall compared to a historic average of around 13 inches. Overall precipitation in the northwestern slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, which supplies Southern California by way of the State Water Project, is at 144 percent of the normal. The Colorado River Basin, which supplies Southern California through the Colorado River Aqueduct, received its biggest snowpack in 14 years.
Click here to read more about water supply conditions.
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Mesa Consolidated Water District Breaks Ground on Colored Water Treatment Facility Improvements Project
By Stacy Taylor, Public Affairs Manager, Mesa Consolidated Water District
By Stacy Taylor, Public Affairs Manager, Mesa Consolidated Water District
The Mesa Consolidated Water District (Mesa Water) Board of Directors inaugurated the start of construction for its Colored Water Treatment Facility improvements project with a ceremonial groundbreaking on April 19, 2011. A live webcam of the Colored Water Treatment Facility improvements project progress is online at http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=xr8waecab&et=1105689018621&s=11443&e=001ZBYd0YJCKCLw7X0CDs8MfYEIgnD25e0GaZe_AVjO7jC8u4izDDhNB-6FjKwlSTmLS8UZZR-2VLUvQiI0bGOOn6cBbmk75VGzPQkNeLo3LD-kSUlK02Qrlw== under the public information menu.“The Colored Water Treatment Facility produces delicious, soft, high-quality water,” said Mesa Water’s Board President, Fred R. Bockmiller, Jr., P.E., “and the Facility expansion will allow Mesa Water to achieve our goal of being able to produce 100 percent of our water from local sources.”
When completed in mid-2012, Mesa Water’s improved Colored Water Treatment Facility will provide the following benefits:
- High-quality soft water;
- 50 percent more water than the previous technology while using less energy;
- Groundwater clean-up by keeping colored water from migrating into the clear water zone;
- 100 percent local water reliability.
Mesa Water closed its Colored Water Treatment Facility for improvements on December 30, 2010. The contractor completed the demolition phase in mid-April 2011, and the expanded Facility is scheduled to return to service by mid-2012, just in time for peak summer demands.
Click here to read more about Mesa Water's Colored Water Treatment Facility.
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MWDOC Celebrates the Winners of the 2011 Poster and Slogan Contest
By Melissa Covarrubias, MWDOC Public Affairs Intern
By Melissa Covarrubias, MWDOC Public Affairs Intern
The 2011 Poster and Slogan Contest sponsored by the Municipal Water District of Orange County (MWDOC), was a success once again. This year more than 800 entries were received from Orange County students in kindergarten through sixth grade. Thirty winners were selected in total – 15 for their poster entries and 15 for their slogan entries. The winning students were recognized at a special awards ceremony on Wednesday, May 25, at the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana. This year’s contest theme was “Low Flow is the Way to Go!” and all of the students showed their talent through their artwork and slogans.
The grand prize winner in the Kindergarten through Third Grade level was Iris Lee from Canyon View Elementary in Irvine. Iris received a pair of annual passes to Disneyland as her grand prize. The grand prize winner in the Fourth through Sixth Grade level was Deven Nagel (poster shown above left) from La Veta Elementary in Orange. Deven received an Apple iPad as his grand prize.
Click here to read more about the MWDOC Poster and Slogan Contest.
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