COSTA MESA : Water District Board OKs ‘Milestone’ Strategic Plan

A strategic plan that will lead the Mesa Consolidated Water District into the 21st Century has been approved by district board members.

“It’s really a milestone for us,” said Karl Kemp, general manager of the district, which serves 100,000 customers. “The plan gives us focus. We’re transitioning from decades of construction to operating our facilities with the utmost efficiency.”

The board worked for four years on the strategic plan, a 100-plus page booklet that outlines the policy direction for the district. Board members, Mesa Consolidated employees and residents have all given their input, which culminated last month in a 5-0 board vote of approval.

As outlined by the strategic blueprint, one plan for the future is to build a treatment plant that would purify undrinkable ground water for domestic use. The water in this underground aquifer looks and smells bad, according to Kemp, but treating it with ozone, a powerful disinfectant, and filtering the water will help rid it of its impurities.

The district serves four areas: Costa Mesa, parts of Newport Beach, the John Wayne Airport and unincorporated areas of the county. There are nine wells, seven of them in operation and two scheduled to begin yielding water soon.

About 75% of the water supplied to district users comes from the wells, with the rest imported from Northern California.

Other goals outlined in the strategic plan are to continue providing uninterrupted water supply in an area prone to drought, adapting to future regulatory controls and communicating well with customers.