Mesa Water District Celebrates 10th Anniversary of Providing Customers 100% Local Water

COSTA MESA, Calif.; March 16, 2022 – Mesa Water District (Mesa Water®) is pleased to celebrate the 10th anniversary of providing customers 100% local, reliable, clean, safe water – the only water district in Orange County to fulfill water demand entirely from local groundwater supplies.

“Mesa Water’s local sources of water are unique in Orange County. The benefits of providing exclusively local water to meet the community’s needs is tremendous,” says Marice H. DePasquale, Mesa Water Board President. “Using water pumped from the groundwater basin, the District is able to keep water more affordable for our customers.”

In Mesa Water’s early history, the District relied exclusively on imported water from Northern California and the Colorado River. Today, Mesa Water uses groundwater that is pumped from the Orange County groundwater basin via Mesa Water’s seven wells. The basin is replenished with water from the Groundwater Replenishment System managed by the Orange County Water District.

Mesa Water’s Board of Directors took significant steps to ensure local water reliability by authorizing construction of the Mesa Water Reliability Facility (MWRF). The MWRF also contributes to Mesa Water’s 100% local water supply.

Raw water that meets all water quality standards is pulled from deep below ground by the MWRF’s two wells. The water has an amber tint that comes from ancient redwood trees, which grew along the Orange County coast more than 100,000 years ago. The trees decayed under the surface of the earth and colored the water in the deep aquifer. Using state-of-the-art nanofiltration technology, the amber organic color is removed and the clear water is added to our water supply.

Benefits of Local Water for Customers: 

• Local water costs less than imported water because there are higher treatment costs for imported water and it takes a tremendous amount of energy to pipe imported water to Orange County.
  • Local water costs $603 per acre foot, while imported water costs $1,143 per acre foot.
  • The lower cost of local water helps protect customers from rate volatility and keeps rate adjustments incremental.
• Mesa Water’s carbon footprint is about half of what it once was when the District was more reliant on imported water. Using local water rather than imported water helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions
• Mesa Water’s abundant local water supply is reliable during dry seasons.
   

Visit MesaWater.org to learn more about this significant Mesa Water milestone.

About Mesa Water

Mesa Water District (Mesa Water®), a local independent special district, manages its finances and water infrastructure, and advocates water policy, while reliably providing an abundance of clean, safe water to benefit the public’s quality of life. Founded on January 1, 1960 and governed by a publicly-elected, five-member Board of Directors, Mesa Water provides 100% local groundwater to 110,000 residents in an 18-square-mile service area that includes most of the City of Costa Mesa, parts of Newport Beach, and unincorporated Orange County including John Wayne Airport. Follow @MesaWater on Facebook, Instagram. Visit MesaWater.org and Mesa Water Reliability Facility to learn more. For questions, email info@MesaWater.org or call 949.631.1200.