It can be hard to put a price on the value of being a good neighbor, but in the case of the Orange County Water District, it comes to about $266 million. That is about half the cost of the district's Groundwater Replenishment System, being paid for by the Orange County Sanitation District. Its centerpiece is a 70-million-gallon-per-day advanced treatment plant.
On schedule for completion next year, it will take secondary-treated effluent from OCSD's adjacent Plant 2 and send it through microfiltration tanks, reverse-osmosis membranes and ultraviolet disinfection. The resulting product, treated beyond safe drinking water standards, will be used for a dual purpose. A portion will be injected into a barrier to halt saltwater intrusion into the district's underground water supply and a 13-mile pipeline will transport about 35 mgd to district percolation ponds to help augment existing supply.