ABOUT THE PROJECT
While California’s historic drought conditions have subsided temporarily in parts of the state, Southern California will continue to face water supply challenges given that the region depends on imported water from Northern California and the Colorado River to meet about half of its total demand. Here, in South Orange County, that demand is even higher, with imported water providing for close to 80 percent of our local water demand.
That is why developing local water supplies is key to ensuring a reliable and sustainable future for local water users and their quality of life, for public health and safety, for the environment and for the economy.
The San Juan Watershed Project is a multi-phase project that will enhance water reliability for our community by capturing local stormwater runoff as well as directing recycled water into temporary storage and using it to recharge our underground aquifer. When completed, the San Juan Watershed Project will be able to provide our community with about 5.6 billion gallons of additional local, reliable water. That’s enough water for 50,000 families each year.
We anticipate breaking ground on this three-phase project in late 2018 but we are eager to hear from our customers and community stakeholders in the coming months, answer questions and address any concerns you may have.
Over 80% of the drinking water in South Orange County is imported from Northern California or the Colorado River.
Benefits
San Juan Watershed Project has the capacity to provide 2.8 billion gallons of local, reliable water to South Orange County residents. This is enough water for 50,000 families each year. The project enhances local water supply, water quality, ecological balance, and the regions capacity to store water.