FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif. – The Orange County Water District (OCWD) filed suit today against several industrial businesses that the district believes are responsible for contaminating parts of Orange County's groundwater basin with volatile organic chemicals (VOCs). For decades, VOCs have been commonly used by industry as solvents and cleaning agents. OCWD as the groundwater management agency, filed the suit to protect the groundwater resources in north and central Orange County. The VOC-contaminated areas in the groundwater basin pose a serious and substantial threat to the public health and environment. The lawsuit, filed in Orange County Superior Court, seeks to recover funds needed to investigate, monitor and remove VOC contamination in the groundwater supplies of Orange County.

The groundwater basin managed by OCWD provides most of the water supply for north and central Orange County-the most populous and developed part of the county. Annually, north and central Orange County uses about 320,000 acre-feet (or 104 billion gallons) of groundwater. This water meets the needs of most of the 2.3 million residents in the cities of Anaheim, Buena Park, Cypress, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Irvine, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Newport Beach, Orange, Placentia, Santa Ana, Seal Beach, Stanton, Tustin, Villa Park, Westminster and Yorba Linda.

Faced with the high costs of cleaning up the VOC contamination, OCWD seeks to hold the industrial polluters responsible for their contamination.

"The water from the wells currently operating in Fullerton, Anaheim and other areas of Orange County is safe, but millions of dollars are needed to clean up the contamination and make sure Orange County's drinking water remains safe from VOC contamination," emphasized Virginia Grebbien, general manager for the Orange County Water District. "VOCs are threatening to destroy a significant portion of our water supply unless we act now. VOCs have significantly contaminated parts of our shallow aquifer. This lawsuit will assure that the costs of protecting our water supply from VOCs are paid by the companies responsible for the problem, and not by OCWD and the community."

The defendants named in the action are the businesses and other industries that OCWD believes have contaminated certain areas of the shallow aquifer. The suit contends that these companies failed to prevent spills, leaks, discharges and releases of VOCs; monitor or discover VOC spills; warn those who may be injured by the VOC leaks; or clean up and abate these VOC discharges as thoroughly and quickly as reasonable possible and in a manner necessary to prevent harm or injury.

OCWD has retained Miller, Axline & Sawyer out of Sacramento as its outside counsel. The firm has extensive experience representing public water agencies in lawsuits to recover the costs of treating contaminated drinking water.

###

Orange County Water District (OCWD) manages and protects the large groundwater basin underlying north and central Orange County. OCWD is a special district, separate from the County of Orange or any city government. It was created by the California Legislature in 1933 to oversee Orange County's groundwater basin. The groundwater basin supplies more than half of the water needs for 2.3 million residents in the cities of Anaheim, Buena Park, Cypress, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Irvine, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Newport Beach, Orange, Placentia, Santa Ana, Seal Beach, Stanton, Tustin, Villa Park, Westminster and Yorba Linda.