The Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program accelerates investment in our nation's water infrastructure by providing long-term, low-cost supplemental loans for regionally and nationally significant projects. GROUNDWATER REPLENISHMENT SYSTEM FINAL EXPANSION BORROWER: Orange County Water District LOCATION: Fountain Valley, California WIFIA LOAN AMOUNT: $135 million TOTAL WIFIA PROJECT COSTS: $282 million POPULATION SERVED BY SYSTEM: 2.5 million people NUMBER OF JOBS CREATED: 700 jobs PROJECT DESCRIPTION The Orange County Water District will expand its existing 100 million gallons per day (MGD) Groundwater Replenishment System to produce an additional 30 MGD drought-proof drinking water supply for its service area. The project will replenish the Orange County Groundwater Basin and reduce the need for imported water. Treated wastewater from the Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD) Plant 2 will be purified using a three-step process that produces high quality water and then stored in the groundwater basin. The final expansion project will include expanding the existing treatment facility, constructing a pump station, rehabilitating pipelines, and reconfiguring the treatment process. PROJECT BENEFITS • Reduces approximately 40 MGD of secondary effluent from being discharged into the ocean. • Increases the replenishment of the groundwater basin. • Provides an additional 31,000 acre-feet per year drought-proof water supply at a lower cost than imported water. • Upon completion, the GWRS will be recyling all of OCSD's reclaimable wastewater and will produce enough water for more than 1 million people. • Saves the Orange County Water District up to $16 million from financing with a WIFIA loan compared to a bond issuance. WIFIA PROGRAM Photo credit: Orange County Water District £% United States Environmental Protection kl Agency WEBSITE: www.epa.gov/wifia EMAIL: wifia@EPA.gov ------- |