Expansion of World’s Biggest Water Reuse System in Orange County Now Complete
The world’s largest water recycling plant just got even bigger.
The final expansion of Orange County Water District’s Groundwater Replenishment System has been completed.
The world’s largest water recycling plant just got even bigger.
The final expansion of Orange County Water District’s Groundwater Replenishment System has been completed.
Orange County is home to the world’s largest water purification system for indirect potable reuse—and it’s only getting bigger. The Groundwater Replenishment System, a joint project between Orange County Water District and Orange County Sanitation District, just finished its final expansion. We spoke to OCWD General Manager Mike Markus and the group’s recent president, Steve Sheldon, to learn more about this revolutionary facility.
The largest water recycling plant in the world can be found in Fountain Valley, California, and work is underway to make it even bigger.
According to the Orange County Water District, its Groundwater Replenishment System takes about 110 million gallons of wastewater from the county’s sanitation district every day that would normally be dumped in the Pacific Ocean.
The Orange County Water District has been awarded a $3.6 million grant from the California Department of Water Resources Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) grant program for use toward the construction of its Groundwater Replenishment System Final Expansion project. Operational since 2008, the GWRS is undergoing its second and final expansion.
Orange County’s wastewater recycling program, a pioneering idea that’s already touted as the largest of its type in the world, is about to get bigger.
Big enough, in fact, to serve the tap water needs of about 1 million residents, according to the Orange County Water District and Orange County Sanitation District. Dubbed the Groundwater Replenishment System, the project produces water that is half the price of imported water, and is virtually immune to both drought and reductions in imports.