Water is our Focus |
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Whether it’s potable water, recycled water or wastewater, it’s H20. South Coast Water District manages this vital resource for the public in a comprehensive and effective way as an independent, not-for-profit agency.
24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, we provide water and sewer service to the coastal communities of Dana Point, Capistrano Beach, Monarch Beach, South Laguna and north coastal San Clemente.
South Coast Water District’s mission is to provide the highest quality drinking water, recycled water and sanitary sewer service to its customers in an efficient, environmentally sensitive and financially responsible manner. |
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2010 Board of Directors |
Wayne Rayfield
Richard Gardner
Richard Dietmeier
Ingrid McGuire
Robert Moore
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President
Vice President
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Directors are elected at-large for four-year terms. The Board has the power to establish policy, approve budgets and construction, set rates and appoint a General Manager. |
Board Meetings |
Regular meetings of the Board of Directors take place on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of every month, except for December, which is usually a “dark” month, in Dana Point City Council Chambers at 6 pm.
The public is welcome to attend and participate with comments and feedback on agenda items. The meetings may also be seen live on Cox Channels 30 and 885 as well as on our website. The meetings are replayed on the Cox Channels over the two-week period before the following meetings. They can be seen at any time on our website, 24/7.
Meeting agendas are posted at least three business days before each meeting in locations throughout the service area and on the District’s website, www.scwd.org. Staff reports associated with agenda items are also posted on the website.
The building locations where agendas are posted are:
• District Main Office, 31592 West Street, Laguna Beach
• District Operations Office, 34152 Del Obispo, Dana Point
• City of Dana Point, City Hall
• Dana Point Library
• Dana Point Post Office
• Capistrano Beach Post Office
• South Laguna Post Office |
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Serving Customers |
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South Coast Water District provides water and/or sewer services to more than 17,000 customer accounts in Dana Point, Monarch Beach, Capistrano Beach, South Laguna, and areas of north San Clemente and north San Juan Capistrano. The 73 employees of South Coast Water District serve 40,000 residents and 2 million visitors annually.
District crews provide emergency service 24/7. They respond to non-emergency requests in half a day, such as meter reading. On a daily basis, they make scheduled customer visits and system maintenance.
Good service depends on good systems. The District operates and maintains its facilities on an ongoing and proactive basis. It invests millions of dollars annually in infrastructure improvements. |
Supplying Water
Today, the District is 100% dependent on imported supplies of drinking water that come from the Colorado River and Northern California. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California supplies the imported water and the Municipal Water District of Orange County purchases it from Metropolitan on behalf of its member agencies, which include South Coast Water District.
The District’s distributes 7 million gallons of drinking water daily through
147 miles of pipelines and 11 pump stations. Its 15 reservoirs can store 22million gallons of water. One reservoir is a unique “multi-use” facility, |
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with tennis courts on top of it. Dana Hills Tennis Center is open to the public (949-240-2104). The District also maintains 1,500 fire hydrants in its service area.Over the next 15 years, imported water supplies are expected to decrease. The District is working to tap into local groundwater from the San Juan Basin in early 2007. A Groundwater Recovery Facility, now under construction on the District’s San Juan Property in Capistrano Beach, will convert salty groundwater into drinking water to meet 10% of current demand.
Over the next few years, the Municipal Water District of Orange County will test the feasibility of a regional ocean desalination plant on District property. The plant would draw ocean water through subsurface wells under the ocean floor and convert it to drinking water via micro-filtration and reverse osmosis. |
Removing Wastewater |
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South Coast Water District removes 4 million gallons of wastewater daily from customers’ sinks, tubs and toilets. The wastewater flows through the District’s sanitary sewer system, which consists of 133 miles of pipelines, 14 lift stations, 3 miles of force mains and 3,048 manholes.
The District’s sewer system conveys wastewater to two treatment plants that the South Orange County Wastewater Authority operates for member agencies: |
- The Coastal Treatment Plant in Laguna Niguel treats wastewater from the northern part of the District.
- The J. B. Latham Treatment Plant in Dana Point treats wastewater from the southern part of the District.
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| These treatment plants produce wastewater that meets the quality requirements of the Federal Clean Water Act for offshore discharge. The wastewater undergoes pretreatment, primary treatment and full secondary treatment, before it safely enters the ocean miles offshore through two underwater pipelines. |
Using Recycled Water |
With additional treatment, filtration, and disinfection, wastewater can be converted to recycled water that meets California’s health criteria for landscape irrigation use.
Recycled water is used to irrigate parks, golf courses, sports fields and greenbelts and helps free up drinking water for human consumption.
Landscape irrigation is the #1 use of drinking water in South Coast Water District’s service area. To conserve drinking water, the District started as early as 1984 to develop a recycled water system that consists of 15 miles
of pipeline, 3 pump stations and 3 storage tanks that can hold 4.7 million gallons. |
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The District provides 170 accounts with recycled water, including Dana Point, Laguna Beach, Dana Hills High School, the Links at Monarch Beach, hotels and homeowners associations.
At 80% of potable water rates, recycled water provides an economic as well as environmental incentive for use. |
District History |
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South Coast Water District is a not-for-profit agency formed in 1932 to provide water and sewer services to several coastal communities in south Orange County. Through a series of mergers, South Coast Water District now serves an 8.3 square mile area from South Laguna through Dana Point and areas of north San Clemente and north San Juan Capistrano.
In 1976, the South Laguna Sanitary District merged with South Coast Water District. In 1999, the Dana Point Sanitary District, Capistrano Beach Water District, and South Coast Water District consolidated into |
the “new” South Coast Water District, serving 40,000 residents, 1,000 businesses and 2,000,000 visitors a year.
South Coast Water District contracted in 2000 to operate the Joint Regional Water Supply System that brings drinking water into south Orange County from the Colorado River and Northern California. |
Contacting the District |
| The District can be reached 24 hours a day by calling 949-499-4555 or by sending an e-mail message from our website: www.scwd.org. |
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