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

Successful Water Filtration Plant Repairs

Recently, you were probably aware of a major public relation’s campaign by water retail agencies (such as Trabuco Canyon Water District) urging the general public to use less water. This was due to scheduled repairs at a major Metropolitan Water District filtration facility known as the Diemer Filtration Plant. This facility supplies almost all the water to south county retail agencies, both cities and water districts. During this planned repair, which lasted almost seven days, water supply to the south county (and various other locations in Orange County) was severely restricted, and most retail agencies were supplying water from their respective storage reservoirs.

The repair at the Diemer Filtration Plant was a major success; it was on time and ready to go well within the anticipated timelines. Because of this, all of the affected water retailers were able to supply water without any emergency interruptions. This necessary repair provided an opportunity for the Orange County water agencies to put into effect many of the “alternate water delivery strategies” that might be used in the event of any unforeseen emergency which might jeopardize water supply to one or more water retailers. This is a good thing, and the high level of cooperation between the water retail agencies is commendable.

Trabuco Canyon Water District did its part during this event and it may be of interest to our customers the role TCWD played during this time.

First, it is true that 80% of this District’s water demand is supplied by imported water (either Colorado River or northern State Water Project). The treatment and supply of water to TCWD customers was the subject of numerous previous ON TAP publications within the last six months. These articles are available for review on TCWD’s website.

Second, it is important to understand that TCWD owns and operates its own water treatment plant; this facility can supply water in excess of 50% of the District’s maximum water demand. As such, the District is not solely dependent on the Diemer Filtration Plant for its water supply. During this time of the year, when the weather can be cool to moderately warm, the District’s water demand can be well below 40% of the District’s water treatment plant’s production capacity. Because of this fact, this provided an opportunity for TCWD to operate the plant at its maximum capacity and supply water to the neighboring water districts.

During the scheduled repair shutdown of the Diemer Filtration Plant, TCWD did operate its water treatment plant at maximum capacity. While maintaining the necessary water levels in our own domestic reservoirs, TCWD was able to flow excess water production to Santa Margarita Water District through one of the District’s infrastructure interties between the two districts. Was this because Santa Margarita Water District needed the supply? Not really. Santa Margarita Water District has planned well over the years to maintain water storage for events such as these. But the excess water was able to go to adjacent districts through Santa Margarita Water District to assist these districts in maintaining adequate water levels during the duration of the repair shutdown; this is known as “wheeling water” in the water industry.

It should be reassuring to TCWD customers, as well as every customer in the Orange County water service area, to know that this level of cooperation between water agencies exists during the time of foreseen and unforeseen water supply interruptions. When the word goes out through the media that the need to conserve water is “urgent”, decreased water use -particularly in the area of landscape irrigation - can make a significant impact. Interestingly enough, landscape irrigation within TCWD (and probably most districts) can account for approximately 75% of the water demand for the District.

* By “cycling” your irritation timer to turn on for the suggested number of minutes an hour apart, you reduce runoff and gain deeper watering and healthier root growth.

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

• March 21, 2007 – Received a presentation from the Municipal Water District of Orange County.
• Received a status report relating to the Dry Season Water Recovery Project (Dove Canyon, Phase II and Pump Stations).
• Discussed the District’s Landscape Dedication/Open House/Water Awareness Day to be held on May 19, 2007.