Cities seek new source of water

Deepa Bharath

Costa Mesa and Newport Beach are looking at other water sources to

make up for an anticipated cut in supply from the Orange County Water

District.

Water district officials will meet next month to decide whether to

reduce the amount of ground water the cities are allowed to draw from

county resources. The proposal stems from the reported depletion of

ground water.

Both cities get 75% of their water supply from the Orange County

Water District, the agency that manages the ground water basin that

supplies water to most of North and Central Orange County.

Newport Beach imports the remaining 25% from the Metropolitan

Water District, and Mesa Consolidated gets part of the remaining 25%

from Metropolitan and from their colored water treatment plant.

Costa Mesa is “looking good” despite the anticipated cut in water

supply, said Coleen Scarminach, spokeswoman for the Mesa Consolidated

Water District.

“We have a back up in our colored water treatment facility,” she

said, adding that the “colored water” actually comes from a very deep

source and is “a good quality soft water” that can be easily treated

and used.

Newport Beach, however, pumps 75% from the Orange County Water

District and imports 25% from Metropolitan Water District.

“We don’t really have any other source,” City Manager Homer Bludau

said.

The city is talking to Metropolitan Water District to see if they

can supply the remaining water without drastic price increases.

The Orange County Water District will most likely limit the water

supplied to Newport Beach to between 62% and 66%, spokeswoman Jenny

Glasser said.

Some of the reasons for the proposed cut includes lack of rain

over the last four years and limits imposed on the amount of water

that can be pumped from the Colorado River, she said. Ground water

use has also increased annually, and there’s not enough supply to

meet growing demands, Glasser added.

“The rain this year has helped out a little bit,” she said. “But

we need this kind of rain regularly for a few years to get out of

this situation.”