Supply

The District has been at the forefront of multiple undertakings to ensure a sustainable water supply for its residents and businesses.  For example, installation of a second well at the District's Groundwater Recovery Facility is expected to double the yield of local drinking water from that plant -- thereby increasing the percentage of local groundwater in our total water supply from 10% to 20%.  In addition, the District's participation in the proposed South Orange Coastal Ocean Desalination project is critical to reducing our dependence on decreasing and unreliable imported water supplies. 

Facilities

The District's potable water system consists of 147 miles of pipeline, 1,700 valves, 1,500 fire hydrants, nine pump stations and 13 local reservoirs.  With additional water storage in the regional Bradt Reservoir in San Clemente and in Santa Margarita Water District's Upper Chiquita Reservoir, the District has total storage capacity of more than 36 million gallons of water.  Therefore, in an emergency, should water from Metropolitan Water District of Southern California no longer flow into south Orange County, the District would have seven days of water storage at normal usage levels and up to 30 days of water storage if special conservation measures were put into effect, such as no irrigation permitted.