OCWD Groundwater Replenishment System Final Expansion

Owner:

Orange County Water District

Partner:

Orange County Sanitation District

Location:

Fountain Valley, California

Value:

$284 million (total project cost)

Completion:

March 2023

Designer:

Black & Veatch

Contractors:

Shimmick Construction (Treatment Plant) and J.F. Shea (Plant 2 Secondary Effluent Pipeline)

Photo Credit:

Greg Epstein Photography

Project Fact Sheet: GWRSFE Fact Sheet

Butier Engineering, Inc.— in collaboration with Carollo Engineers—provided construction management and inspection services for the Groundwater Replenishment System Final Expansion (GWRSFE). The GWRSFE provides an additional 31,000 AFY of advanced treated wastewater (recycled water) to the groundwater basin in north and central Orange County. The treatment capacity increased from 100 to 130 million gallons per day (MGD)—enough water for 1,000,000 people.

In order to produce 130 MGD, additional treated wastewater from the Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD) is required. This additional water comes from OCSD’s Treatment Plant 2, which is located in the city of Huntington Beach approximately 3.5 miles south of the GWRS. The GWRSFE project included the expansion of GWRS treatment facilities, constructing new conveyance facilities at OCSD Plant 2, and rehabilitating an existing pipeline between OCSD Plant 2 and the GWRS.