BOARD OF DIRECTORS Glen Acosta, President Jim Haselton, Vice President Matt Disston, Director Mike Safranski, Director Ed Mandich, Director GENERAL MANAGER Don Chadd

ON TAP

TCWD's Water Sources: Part One

If you have children, then you have probably been asked this question at some point in time: Where do we get our water? The "ocean, clouds, and rain" answer can become tiresome if you are asked that question more than once.

So what is the answer? Over the next several issues of ON TAP we will attempt to answer this question, from big picture explanation to local perspective.

Let's start with drinking water, also known as potable water. Almost all of the water which is delivered to homes and businesses is through either cities or water districts; these entities are known as retail water agencies.

In Orange County, the source of water depends on where you live. Some cities and water districts in Orange County, particularly the areas in the north county, are able to tap into the county's huge underground water basin using wells. The amount of water in the basin varies depending on periods of drought or rain, but generally the basin is considered a very reliable source of water.

In the southern portions of Orange County, cities and water districts are largely dependent on water which is imported or "brought in" to the area. The agency that is responsible for procuring and supplying this water to the retail water agencies is the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, know in the industry as MET.

MET is responsible for assuring an annual supply of water to the greater southern California area. As you might imagine, this task takes a tremendous amount of analysis and planning.

MET has two major sources of water. One is from the northern California area, where water is diverted from the rivers that are created from the annual melting of the snow pack of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The second source is water diverted from the Colorado River.

As you can probably understand, bringing this water to Southern California, to be used as drinking water, requires well planned and well maintained infrastructure: pipes, pumping stations, and water treatment facilities. It should come as no surprise that a significant expense for delivery of this water is the electrical costs associated with pumping and treatment of water.

Trabuco Canyon Water District, as with every other retail agency that relies on MET for supply of imported water, must purchase the water supply rights, or water allocation, from MET. The amount of capacity purchased by a retail agency is based on the peak demand of the agency based on the complete "buildout" or development of land within the district boundaries of the agency. In most cases, the cost of the purchase of water capacity allocation is passed on to the developer, and is built into the original cost of a new home or retail structure.

Trabuco canyon Water District currently has purchased from MET water allocations to meet the projected peak water demand for the District at "buildout." While this time period may still be many years away, it is important for the District to anticipate the future water needs of the District to guarantee the supply of water to all District customers.

The amount of water a district has purchased the "right" to purchase annually--the capacity--is measured in acre feet (the amount of water needed to cover an acre of land one foot deep in water). The ability to deliver this amount of water is governed, on a practical level, by the capacity the district has in pipelines which supply the district; this capacity is measured in cubic feet per second (cfs).

To date, Trabuco Canyon Water District has a total purchased annually capacity of 7,240 acre feet of wholesale water supply. District customers currently use an annual amount averaging approximately 4,250 acre feet of water; this is potable water used at residences as well as that which is used for irrigation.

You may have noticed that we have not answered the question: Where do we get our water? Stay tuned as we continue to move from big picture explanation to the local perspective in the next issues of ON TAP.

The Regular Board Meeting is held on the third Wednesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at the District Office located at 32003 Dove Canyon Drive, Trabuco Canyon. The public is encouraged to attend.

Board Highlights

• August 16, 2006 – Adopted the Final Mitigated Negative Declaration and approved other actions related to the Dry Season Water Recovery Project, Phase I Dove Canyon, Demolition and Restoration.
• Approved an Agreement with Santa Margarita Water District for the Collection and Distribution of Water Runoff.
• Took actions relating to Summerfield Homes, Tract No. 15800.
• Received information relating to the Zadeh Memorandum of Understanding.
• Approved the final design and installation of the California-Friendly Landscape Design at the Administration Facility.
• Discussed the Municipal Water District of Orange County Member Agency Relations Meeting.
• Conducted three Closed Sessions.
• August 25, 2006 - Awarded the contract for the Dry Season Water Recovery Project, Phase I Dove Canyon, Demolition and Restoration.
• Approved the Supplemental Agreement for Sewage Services at The Oaks at Trabuco.