Irvine Chamber Go Green Committee Tours OC Water District
By: Katie Gardner, Orange County Business Service Center
 
Orange County continues to pave the way for future decades of eco friendly innovations in water management.  The Sanitation District and the Water District have forged an ingenious partnership for the purpose of recycling water and reducing the amount of waste flowing into the Oceans of Orange County in a highly environmental and financially responsible way.  On the Go Green Committee's recent tour of the Orange County Water District Facility, we learned about the processes of one of the worlds most forward thinking partnerships in sustainability.
 
The water runoff from our dishwashers, showers, sprinkler systems and yes, toilets, are funneled through the sewer system to the Orange County Sanitation District. 
The solids are then removed from the water and sent to the Orange County Water District for purification and redistribution.  As we saw on our tour, water undergoes an hour-long three-step purification process consisting of Microfiltration, Reverse Osmosis, and Ultraviolet Light treatment.  Once the water has been purified, essential minerals are added to stabilize the PH level.  At this stage the water is nearly identical to the bottled water we buy at the store, and even better in some cases.  The majority of this purified water is pumped into Aquifers in Anaheim where it undergoes a six month underground natural purification from the rocks and sand before redistribution as "potable" or "reclaimed" water.  The remaining portion of the purified water not being redistributed is combined with treated wastewater from the Sanitation District prior to being dispersed into the Ocean.  The addition of the purified water to the wastewater runoff vastly minimizes the concentration of pollutants flowing into the sea.
 
At the end of the tour, as the Go Green Committee members are offered a taste of the newly purified water, a Korean Television News Crew filming the tour captured our reactions, "It's sweet" one Go Green Committee member recalled, "Tastes just like Bottled water," and "Quite good" others call out.  We all were in disbelief that water only hours before came from the sewers and through the purification system to our mouths and soon will be going to our kitchen sinks and shower faucets.  This recycling process actually uses about half the energy required to transport water from Northern California.  With this system, not only are we reducing our carbon footprint, but we are reducing the strain on our wallets too! For further information on the Groundwater Replenishment System, a process fondly referred to as "showers to flowers" visit www.gwrsystem.com.
 
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