Water Importation: Tide to Keep Rising

By SHELBY GRAD

Aug. 25, 1997 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Orange County’s reliance on expensive imported water is expected to increase significantly over the next 20 years, raising the prospect of higher bills for consumers and prompting officials to seek new sources of less-costly local ground water.

Job growth and new residential developments across the county should increase overall water demand by 30% by 2020, according to new estimates by the Orange County Water District.

But because local water supplies are limited, the district predicts that use of imported water from the Colorado River, Northern California and elsewhere will jump by at least 37% over the same period.

These projections trouble some officials, who note that imported water costs twice as much as tapping local supplies and is a less dependable a source.

“It goes beyond cost to a question of reliability,” said Wes Bannister, president of the Orange County Water District. “If we had a major earthquake that shuts the California Aqueduct down for six months or had a major drought, what would we do?”

Most of the cities in northern and central Orange County get 50% to 70% of their water from the ground and import the rest. But South County has far less ground water and thus must rely more heavily on importation.

Local water agencies hope to reduce their reliance on imported water by drilling dozens of new wells, at a cost of more than $30 million. They are also considering much more expensive plans to build a new water reclamation plant and make a variety of improvements to the county’s waterworks.

All this comes at the height of a bitter water war between San Diego County and the Metropolitan Water District, which supplies Southern California--and Orange County--with much of its imported water.

San Diego wants to reduce its reliance on the MWD by purchasing water from Imperial County. MWD opposes the plan, saying that if San Diego buys less from the MWD, and consequently begins paying less of the pumping and other transmission costs, it will result in higher water rates for other MWD customers in Southern California, including those in Orange County.

The MWD is also under pressure from the federal government to reduce the amount of water it takes from the Colorado River, a development that might reduce the amount of water available to Orange County.

“We are looking for any opportunities we can to increase our use of local ground water,” said Ronald E. Young, general manager of the Irvine Ranch Water District, which is drilling three new wells this year alone. “By its nature, ground water is very reliable. It’s there in times of drought.”

The projected surge in demand over the next 20 years comes after water use in Orange County actually dropped by nearly 10% earlier in the decade. Officials attributed the dip to the drought and economic recession of the early 1990s.

But since 1993, water use is up 16%, and the Orange County Water District predicts a further 30% increase by 2020 because of new growth.

To meet the rising demand, northern and central county water agencies plan to increase ground water production from 70% of capacity today to 75% by 2020. The effort will require more than two dozen new wells, and experts still aren’t sure if the goal can be met.

“It’s still a question whether we can pump that much water out of the basin,” said William R. Mills Jr., general manager of the Orange County Water District. “Our first indications are that this is doable. But we will have to wait and see.”

Even with the costs of the new wells and other improvements, Mills said ground water pumping will still cost far less than importation or other options, such as desalinization of ocean water.

In 2000, the Orange County Water District estimates that an acre-foot of ground water will cost $182, compared with at least $468 for imported water and more than $1,200 for desalinized water. An acre-foot is 324,000 gallons, enough to supply the needs of two families for a year.

Officials also hope to bolster local water supplies by building a new reclamation facility that would treat waste water. Some of the recycled water would be pumped into the Santa Ana River as part of a recharging process designed to increase the county’s ground water supply as river water filters down through the riverbed and holding ponds into the aquifer. The first phase of this reclamation project would cost about $240 million.

The Orange County Water District has not yet come up with estimates of how water rates will change over the next 20 years. But officials have expressed concerns about a proposal by the MWD that would increase water charges to areas like Orange County that are experiencing growth in water demand.

According to an Orange County Water District report, the cost of imported water from the MWD could rise as much as 35%. The MWD would use the extra revenue to pay for infrastructure improvements needed to accommodate regional growth.

But MWD officials insist that they haven’t decided how to apply so-called “new demand charges” and that customers probably won’t see sharp increases in their water bills.

“I don’t think you will see that kind of impact on water rates,” said Brian Thomas, assistant chief of planning and resources for the MWD. “Our 10-year forecast shows that rates should remain pretty flat.”

Thomas, however, said that Orange County residents might take a modest hit if San Diego County is successful in receiving water from Imperial County and reduces the amount it pays to the MWD.

Average monthly residential water bills range from less than $14 in Irvine and Garden Grove to more than $35 in some South County communities such as Laguna Beach and Trabuco Canyon, according to a 1996 survey by Black & Veatch.

Anaheim’s average monthly water bill is $21.87, while Santa Ana’s is $18.23. By contrast, Los Angeles bills average $24.69 a month, Riverside $10.90 and San Diego $24.49.

The push to reduce reliance on imported water is also driven by more than concern about cost.

Huntington Beach’s water department is just completing a $43-million waterworks upgrade that adds three wells and millions of gallons of extra reservoir capacity. Linda Daily, a senior analyst with the city, said the additional reservoir should give the city a decent supply of water in case wells and pipes are damaged during an earthquake.

“We could have a situation in which we will have to live with what is within our reach,” she said.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

County’s Thirst for Water

Ground water from local aquifers provides the cheapest source of water for Orange County. Here are the estimated costs of an acre-foot of water from various sources by 2000. An acre-foot is 324,000 gallons, enough to supply the needs of two families for a year:

Source: Cost

Local Ground Water: $182

New Water Reclamation Plant: $375

Imported Water: $468-$631*

Gypsum Canyon Reservoir: $707

Aliso Canyon Reservoir: $803

Ocean Water Desalinization: $1,251-$1,350

* Depends on price charged by water supplier

Import Increase

The county’s reliance on imported water is expected to increase by 37% by 2020. Here are Orange County Water District projections, in acre-feet:

Year: Amount

1996: 194,000