OCWD on Target to Be First Reused-Water Bottler
The Orange County Water District (OCWD) and Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD) have partnered for over 20 years to plan, design, build and operate one of the world’s most celebrated advanced water reuse facilities, the Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS).
Similar water reuse projects are now seen around the world, but there is still hesitation to build them in some communities here in the United States and abroad. AB 2022 (Gordon, D-Menlo Park), which went into effect in January, allows GWRS water to be bottled to support educational outreach efforts and both districts are gearing up to get the word out.
OCWD and OCSD are in the process of bottling GWRS water—on target to be the first bottlers of reused water in the Western Hemisphere. The two agencies will be going on the road to major water industry events, college campuses and community events to prove the GWRS adage, “Tastes like water…because it is water!” and garner support for water reuse projects.
The Orange County Water District and the Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD) decision to bottle GWRS water can have a tremendous impact on educating the public, media, and policy makers about treatment and purification process options, safety measures and beneficial uses of water reuse, and can serve as an important communications tool to garner support for direct potable reuse projects and additional indirect potable reuse projects.
The first edition bottling is set to debut in late March.