Water Projects

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:
February 2023
Designer:
Black & Veatch
Contractors:
Shimmick Construction (Treatment Plant) and J.F. Shea (Plant 2 Secondary Effluent Pipeline)
Photo Credit:
Greg Epstein Photography

Butier Engineering, Inc.— in collaboration with Carollo Engineers—is providing construction management and inspection services for the Groundwater Replenishment System Final Expansion (GWRSFE). When completed, the GWRSFE will provide an additional 31,000 AFY of advanced treated wastewater (recycled water) to the groundwater basin in north and central Orange County. The treatment capacity will increase 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 will come 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 will include expanding GWRS treatment facilities, constructing new conveyance facilities at OCSD Plant 2, and rehabilitating an existing pipeline between OCSD Plant 2 and the GWRS.

Project Fact Sheet:

GWRSFE Fact Sheet

News Articles

The world’s biggest water recycling facility gets bigger in OC

OrangeCoast Magazine Article

Videos:

Construction Progress: time lapse video

ABC 7 News Coverage of the Groundwater Replenishment System