Briefly in the news

With Orange County’s population expected to surge in the coming years,

steps are being taken to ensure that cities have an additional source of

clean drinking water.

Huntington Beach is one several cities that will benefit from a

$2.5-million federal grant, signed into law in November by President

George W. Bush, to be used for a Ground-water Replenishment System

project. It is a joint project of the Orange County Water District and

the Orange County Sanitation District, to provide the county with a

source of pure and safe drinking water that will serve as many as 200,000

families each year after its completion in 2006.

The grant is part of $20 million in federal funds allotted for the

project, currently in the design stage, said spokeswoman for the water

district Jenny Glasser.

The system will take highly treated sewer water from the sanitation

district, which is currently sent to the ocean, and purify it to near

distilled quality.

Treated water will be added to an existing underground water basin,

also known as an aquifer.

Construction of treatment facilities on water district and sanitation

district properties in Fountain Valley is expected to begin early next

year, Glasser said.

Population increases combined with a reduction of water supplied from

the Colorado River and Northern California prompted the project to get

underway, she said.

“It’s an additional water source to Orange County to ensure we always

have enough water to recycle and use,” she said.

Peter Green, the vice chairman of the sanitation district’s board of

directors and a Huntington Beach City Council member, said he expects the

water will be cleaner than water from the Colorado River.

“[Treated water] will be of an increased quality than what we’re

getting from the Colorado River or Northern California,” Green said.

The new treatment system will provide 100,000 acre-feet of water for

north and central Orange County, enough water for two families of four

for one year.

Total cost for the project is approximately $350 million. The system

has received a total of $39.7 million from the State Water Board,

California Energy Commission, the United States Environmental Protection

Agency and the Bureau of Reclamation.