Full Notification

Santa Ana, CA (October 17, 2014) –– The City of Santa Ana (the City) and the Orange County Water District (OCWD; the District) will come together on Thursday, October 30, to share with Santa Ana residents and businesses, the steps they are taking to ensure continued water reliability and quality. The meeting will take place in the Santa Ana City Council Chambers from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and will be a collaborative discussion regarding OCWD’s groundwater cleanup projects, the drought, Orange County’s water supply, water efficiency and rebate programs, and resident concerns. Spanish translation will be available.

Approximately two-thirds of Santa Ana’s award-winning water is drawn from the groundwater basin managed by OCWD. The remaining part of its water supply comes from imported sources that are nearly three times the cost of groundwater. This means that Santa Ana residents and businesses are receiving high-quality water and paying less for it.

At the upcoming meeting, the City of Santa Ana and OCWD want to share important information about what has been detected in the groundwater basin through OCWD’s stringent water quality monitoring program. Unsafe levels of pollutants in shallow parts of the basin caused by decades of heavy manufacturing in Orange County have been found. While drinking water served in the 19 cities located within the District meet or exceed state and federal drinking water standards, the contamination is moving towards the deeper parts of the basin from which drinking water is drawn. Five wells have already been taken out of service because contaminants were approaching elevated levels.

Since 1933, OCWD has protected this valuable water supply and will continue to do so. It has a federally-approved plan in place to speed cleanup efforts and recover costs for taxpayers. As the District moves forward with this critical cleanup effort to ensure water reliability for generations to come, it will keep the community informed of its progress.

Councilman Vincent Sarmiento, who also serves on the 10-member Orange County Water District Board of Directors representing Santa Ana, notes the City’s pride in its water. “Since 2011, Santa Ana’s drinking water has received three awards for Best Municipal Water from the Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting Festival. This is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the public agencies responsible for this service. Water is the backbone of a successful economy and these two agencies work in concert to protect and supply this precious resource for Santa Ana,” said Councilman Sarmiento.

With drought conditions expected to occur three out of every 10 years, water supply reliability is crucial to the region’s sustainability. Protecting and cleaning the local groundwater basin is a priority for OCWD to ensure it can continue to meet the community’s demands and keep water rates reasonable and stable.

The City and OCWD will continue their work together to provide reliable, high-quality water. To attend the community meeting hosted on October 30, please register by visiting www.ocwd.com/watersupplyseries. For additional information about the City of Santa Ana, please visit http://www.santa-ana.org/SAwatersmart/. To learn more about OCWD, please visit www.ocwd.com.

About the City of Santa Ana: Located in the heart of Orange County, the City of Santa Ana has a population of 330,000 and ranks as the fourth densest city in the nation. With access to four major freeways and a regional transit station, which services Amtrak and Metrolink, Santa Ana is a convenient place to live and work. Santa Ana is home to local, state and federal government offices including the District Attorney’s Office, Orange County Courts and the Ronald Reagan Federal Courthouse. The City is also home to major institutions and corporations including the Bowers Museum, Discovery Science Cube, the Santa Ana Zoo, Yokohama Tires, Crevier BMW (the #1 dealer in the Western United States for the past 25 years), First American Title Corporation, Behr paint, Ingram Micro and the Orange County Register. With its historic architecture, charming streets, live/work lofts, and vibrant restaurant scene, Downtown Santa Ana continues to be regarded by major news publications as one of Orange County’s best neighborhoods.

About Orange County Water District (OCWD): The Orange County Water District manages the groundwater basin that underlies north and central Orange County and operates the world’s largest water reuse project of its kind, the Groundwater Replenishment System. OCWD is committed to enhancing Orange County’s groundwater quality and reliability in an environmentally friendly and economical manner. The following cities rely on the groundwater basin managed by OCWD to provide approximately 70 percent of their water demands: Anaheim, Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Irvine, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Newport Beach, Orange, Placentia, Santa Ana, Seal Beach, Stanton, Tustin, Villa Park, Westminster and Yorba Linda.

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