Mesa Water Awarded $250,000 from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to Lead the Local Groundwater Supply Improvement Project Feasibility Study

Mesa Water District (Mesa Water®), Orange County Water District (OCWD) and the cities of Huntington Beach and Newport Beach are joining together to spearhead coastal Orange County’s water supply resiliency efforts by pursuing innovative ways to sustainably provide local, reliable water supplies to the region.

Mesa Water was awarded $250,000 from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to lead the local groundwater Supply Improvement Project (Local SIP) feasibility study, in partnership with OCWD, the City of Huntington Beach and the City of Newport Beach. The study will explore the benefits of brackish groundwater desalination for water whose salinity is between that of fresh water and marine water – to enhance local and regional water supplies.

“Mesa Water supports the development of cost-effective and environmentally sensitive sources of water, including recycling, groundwater clean-up and brackish desalination,” says Paul Shoenberger, P.E., Mesa Water General Manager. “The funding for this critical effort will help us study new opportunities to augment our local water supply.”

Desalinated brackish groundwater was identified as a potential new source of water to improve local reliability in the future for the Orange County Groundwater Basin and the other 18 agencies that serve water from this aquifer.