OCWD Management Area
SECTION 2 AGENCY INFORMATION
2.1 HISTORY OF OCWD
The Orange County Water District (OCWD) is a special district formed in 1933 by an act of the California Legislature, the OCWD Act. Additionally, as a special act district listed in Water Code § 10723 (c)(1), OCWD is the exclusive local agency within its jurisdictional boundaries with powers to comply with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) via a groundwater sustainability plan (“GSP”) or via an Alternative prepared in accordance with Water Code § 10733.6. OCWD manages the groundwater basin that underlies north and central Orange County. Water produced from the basin is the primary water supply for approximately 2.5 million residents living within OCWD ’s boundaries. With passage of SGMA (Water Code §10723(c)) in 2014, OCWD was designated the exclusive local agency within its jurisdictional boundaries with powers to comply with SGMA. Nineteen major groundwater producers, including cities, water districts, and a private water company, pump groundwater from approximately 200 large-capacity wells for retail water use. There are also approximately 120 small-capacity wells that pump water from the basin. OCWD protects and manages the groundwater resource for long-term sustainability, while meeting approximately 75 percent of the water demand within its service area. Since its founding, OCWD has grown in area from 162,676 to 243,968 acres and has experienced an increase in population from approximately 120,000 to 2.5 million people. OCWD has employed groundwater management techniques to increase the annual yield from the basin including operating over 1,500 acres of recharge basins in the cities of Anaheim, Orange, and unincorporated areas of Orange County. Annual groundwater production increased from approximately 150,000 acre-feet per year in the mid-1950s to a high of over 366,000 acre-feet per year in WY2007-08. OCWD has managed the basin to provide a reliable supply of relatively low-cost water, accommodating rapid population growth while at the same time avoiding the costly and time- consuming adjudication of water rights experienced in many other major groundwater basins in Southern California. Facing the challenge of increasing demand for water has fostered a history of innovation and creativity that has enabled OCWD to increase available groundwater supply while ensuring the long-term sustainability of the groundwater basin. A brief history of OCWD from 1933 to 2015 is provided in the 2017 Alternative. Significant events that have occurred during the last five years are as follows: 2018: GWRS sets the Guinness World Record for most wastewater recycled in 24 hours. The official amount was 100,008,000 gallons. 2019: OCWD’s Philip L. Anthony Water Quality Laboratory was the first public agency laboratory in California to achieve state certification to analyze for PFAS in drinking water. OCWD launched the nation’s largest pilot program to test various treatment options for PFAS.
BASIN 8-1 ALTERNATIVE 2022 UPDATE
Agency Information 2-1
Appendix F - 81
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