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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE KEY CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE APPROVES BILL TO PROTECT WATER QUALITY IN SANTA ANA RIVER Bill will help fund local desalination project serving Chino, Chino Hills and Ontario and improve water quality and reliability for Orange County FOUNTAIN VALLEY, CA, May 20, 2004 --/WORLD-WIRE/-- The Orange County Water District (OCWD) and the Inland Empire Utilities Agency (IEUA) are pleased with the House Resources Committee's recent approval of H.R. 142, an amendment to the Water Recycling and Desalination Act. The bill, authored by Congressman Gary Miller (R-CA), authorizes over $70 million in federal assistance to improve the water quality of the Santa Ana River and expand the existing groundwater desalination facilities in Chino, which will help improve water reliability for Southern California. "Congressman Miller's legislation is critical for ensuring a reliable water supply in the Inland Empire," stated Robert Neufeld, Chino Basin Watermaster chairman. "H.R. 142 will enable the Chino Basin to clean-up historic agricultural related water quality problems." Specifically, H.R. 142 would authorize up to $50 million, or 25 percent, of the actual construction costs to expand the Chino desalination facilities to provide more drinking water to the residents of Chino, Chino Hills, Ontario, Jurupa and Norco. Up to $20 million would go toward OCWD's expansion of its natural wetlands treatment of the Santa Ana River. OCWD has a stated goal to send all Santa Ana River flows through natural treatment wetlands to enhance the water quality of the river flows. Currently, OCWD sends 50 percent of the river flows through wetlands for nitrate removal. H.R. 142 helps fund the expansion of the wetlands for 100 percent water-quality treatment. "The federal financial assistance from H.R. 142 will not only help drought proof the Santa Ana Watershed but will significantly enhance the water quality of the Santa Ana River," said Denis Bilodeau, OCWD board president. "Congressmen Gary Miller and Ken Calvert have done a wonderful job of supporting the efforts to expand our local water supplies and assist in protecting the water quality of the Santa Ana River," said John Anderson, IEUA board president. "Their leadership and assistance on Congressional authorization for these very important projects will provide significant environmental benefits." The Orange County Water District (OCWD) manages and protects the huge groundwater basin underlying north and central Orange County. OCWD is a special district, separate from the County of Orange or any city government. It was created by the California Legislature in 1933 to oversee Orange County's groundwater basin. The groundwater basin supplies more than half of the water needs for 2.3 million residents in the cities of Anaheim, Buena Park, Cypress, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Irvine, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Newport Beach, Orange, Placentia, Santa Ana, Seal Beach, Stanton, Tustin, Villa Park, Westminster and Yorba Linda. To learn more about water log on to www.ocwd.com. The Inland Empire Utilities Agency distributes imported water from Metropolitan Water District and provides industrial/municipal wastewater collection and treatment services, operates the Chino 1 Desalter, and other related utility services for a 242-square-mile area in the western portion of San Bernardino County. Approximately 700,000 people reside in IEUA's service area. For more information, contact Sondra Elrod at (909) 993-1747 or visit IEUA's web site at www.ieua.org. CONTACT: Jenny Wedge, OCWD, (714)378-3228, mobile (714)943-1163 or Sondra Elrod, IEUA, (909)357-0241 |
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