Orange County water and sanitation officials announced they have produced 200 billion gallons of recycled water.
The Groundwater Replenishment System, a joint project of the Orange County Water District and the Orange County Sanitation District, initially produced up to 70 million gallons of water a day, but last year capacity was boosted by another 30 million gallons per day, making it world’s largest project of its kind.
The system “currently accounts for one-third of the water that OCWD puts into the groundwater basin it manages that provides water for 2.4 million people,” said OCWD President Cathy Green Monday.
Officials are aiming to produce 130 million gallons of reused water daily, said John Nielsen, chairman of the sanitation district’s board.
The wastewater is cleaned to exceed state and federal standards and then makes its way to the county’s groundwater basin.
—City News Service