County Officials Put In Plug for Flood Control : Funding: Delegation seeks another $70 million to further massive Santa Ana River project.

Citing recent damage from heavy rainstorms, Orange County officials Wednesday asked Congress to spend another $70 million to help avert massive devastation from future floods in Southern California.

Additional funding for the Santa Ana River Flood Control Project, which began with the federal government’s help in 1990, will keep the $1.3-billion project on schedule, officials told members of the House Energy and Water Appropriations subcommittee.

The delegation from Orange County also requested money for smaller projects, including an innovative water treatment system that could provide water for 1 million county residents a year.

Five of the county’s six House members spoke on behalf of the flood control project, which would protect Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties from a so-called 100-year flood--flooding so severe it occurs only once per 100 years. Destructive flooding in the past year has made the effort even more urgent, they said.

“The 100-year dreaded flood--it could happen in Santa Ana,” said Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove). “And it’s not just crops that would be destroyed. It’s $15 billion in property damage and about 3,000 lives we’re talking about.”

Since 1990, Congress has provided more than $400 million for the project. The White House, in its annual budget proposal, also requested the full $70.2 million that county officials are asking this year.

County Public Works Director William L. Zaun tried to assure lawmakers that the county’s bankruptcy would not hinder its ability to match any federal appropriation by its required 25%.

The testimony came at the annual “California Water Day,” a forum for California lawmakers and local officials to plead for money to help with the state’s constant water woes.

Mindful of widespread flooding in the past several months, subcommittee members were sympathetic to the state’s plight. Rep. Vic Fazio (D-Woodland), a subcommittee member, said he would make sure his budget-conscious Republican colleagues gave priority to California projects.

And Chairman John Myers (R-Ind.) indicated he considers investing in flood control a wise expenditure.

“Flood control is the most important thing when you’re talking about saving lives,” Myers said. “But even the damages can be devastating. Every dollar we invest saves $6” in federal aid.

The hearing also gives House members a chance to schmooze their colleagues for a chunk of federal money to bring home. Dornan praised Myers’ military record, and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) offered compliments to all panel members.

In addition, county officials appealed for $600,000 to help start a water-reclamation project that will test new recycling technologies and reduce the area’s reliance on water from Northern California and Colorado.

The initiative would take water that is now dumped into the Pacific Ocean and pump it 13 miles to a Santa Ana basin where it would be treated, discharged into the ground and made available to community wells.

“It will be a proving ground for testing and demonstrating new water-treatment technologies aimed at reducing the costs of water purification,” said William Mills, general manager of the Orange County Water District.

Congress denied a request to fund the project last year. At the time, lawmakers attributed the rejection to a tight federal budget.

Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach) also asked for $2 million to repair jetties and study maintenance needs in Newport Harbor.