New Well Capacity

As the county’s population grows, so does its need for water. To that end, the Orange County District is always creating new wells to augment the county’s water supply. Last week, Water Watch looked at the six new wells to be tapped this year. They will add 16,500 acre-feet of water to the county’s supply. Next year is projected to be even more profitable in terms of providing for the county’s future water needs. During 1992, 10 new wells are to be sunk. These wells will add 67,000 acre-feet, or about 22 billion gallons, of water to the county’s supply. An acre-foot of water is enough to satisfy the water needs of a family of five for one year. Here’s the list and the projected water capacities.

Capacity for New Wells (In acre-feet) Placentia: 1,000 Serrano Irrigation District: 1,000 Tustin No. 2: 2,000 Southern California Water Co.: 4,000 Mesa Water District*: 5,000 Newport Beach: 7,000 Fullerton: 10,000 Anaheim: 10,000 Huntington Beach: 12,000 Santa Ana: 15,000 *Mesa Consolidated Water District Source: Metropolitan Water District of Southern California