SOUTH COUNTY : Water Officials Get Super-Agency Details

Representatives of 15 South County water districts met Monday to learn more about a new “super-agency” created to promote the use of recycled waste water.

About 35 people attended the two-hour meeting meeting at the Moulton Niguel Water District offices in Laguna Niguel, said Lisa Hogan, project manager for the newly formed South Orange County Reclamation Authority.

The new agency was created to streamline the process of obtaining permits to use recycled water. Permits have historically been issued by the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board.

“Right now, the process is very long and involved,” Hogan said. “It can take years under the present system, even though we may have the water ready to go.”

Among the districts that have joined the new agency are the Santa Margarita Water District, the Moulton Niguel Water District, the Capistrano Valley Water District and the South Coast Water District, all of which have been using recycled water for at least 15 years, Hogan said.

In all, nine of South County’s 15 water districts use treated water for things such as landscaping and agriculture, Hogan said, allowing drinking water to be conserved, she said.

The concept of a super-agency to promote the use of treated water was endorsed earlier this month by the Regional Water Quality Control Board, the governing body for Southern California. Agency officials say they hope to begin issuing permits for reclaimed water systems by mid-1992.