NEWPORT BEACH : Council Votes to Use Reclaimed Water

Newport Beach will join a program that allows cities to buy treated sewer water from the county to use for parks, golf courses and landscaping.

The program will save Newport Beach about 487 million gallons of water annually, about 11% of the city’s yearly demand, according to utilities director Robert Dixon.

Under the Green Acres program, the Orange County Water District will expand one of its sewage treatment plants. Once the waste water has received a tertiary treatment, it will be piped to delivery points for use on large areas of turf or landscaping.

The cities of Fountain Valley, Santa Ana and Costa Mesa are now participating in the reclaimed water project. Already the cities have decided on about 50 different locations where the reclaimed water will be used. These sites include the Costa Mesa golf course, the Fountain Valley Recreation Center, Mile Square Park and a number of area nurseries.

The water will be available to those three cities by the fall of 1991, when the necessary pipelines and the treatment facility are scheduled for completion, Fountain Valley Public Works Director Wayne Osborne said. Newport Beach will have access to the system near the end of 1993, deputy utilities director Jeff Staneart said.

Once the city is hooked up to the Green Acres network, private companies and landowners--such as country clubs--can buy the reclaimed water from the city. Big Canyon Golf Course and the Newport Beach Country Club golf course will be the first city sites to receive the reclaimed water, Staneart said.

Tuesday’s action by the City Council sets in motion the process of negotiations between Newport Beach staff members and the Orange County Water District. A skeleton agreement calls for a 25-year commitment to the project. The project will be completely funded by the water district, though the delivery of water to Newport Beach users will be managed by the city.