Item 07 - Response to OC Grand Jury Report_ Historic Rain, Yet Drought

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HISTORIC RAIN, YET DROUGHT REMAINS ORANGE COUNTY GRAND JURY 2022 I 2023 Page 11 of 57 “MET water will not be reliable for at least a decade and Orange County needs to consider developing other resources to make up for this lack of reliability.” water supplies. Most notable is that the Carson wastewater reclamation project is years away from being completed and 20 years behind similar projects in Orange County. Overall, MET cannot be expected to significantly replace the reductions in water allocations from the Colorado River and the State Water Project within the next decade. Municipal Water District of Orange County (Water Wholesaler) The Municipal Water District of Orange County (MWDOC) is primarily a wholesale water provider and, to a lesser extent, a water resource development and planning agency for nearly 3.2 million Orange County residents, and businesses. MWDOC buys imported water from the California State Water Project in Northern California and the Colorado River through the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. MWDOC has four representative seats on the Metropolitan Water District (MET) Board. Through its member agencies, MWDOC covers all of Orange County except the Cities of Anaheim, Fullerton, and Santa Ana. Orange County must import water due to limited local water supplies. Central and North County import approximately 30% of their water to supplement its existing supply. However, South County is highly reliant on the Municipal Water District, as South County water districts must import 90% of their water supply from outside of Orange County. The Municipal Water District of Orange County is extremely important as a wholesaler or broker to the retail water districts in Orange County and as a representative of Orange County’s interest on the Metropolitan Water District Board. MWDOC has completed a comprehensive study of Orange County’s water reliability needs that could serve to achieve a climate resilient water supply. The study covers MET system reliability and Orange County projects including desalination projects, water shed projects, and water banking projects. The study also identifies the crisis Orange County is facing – by 2030, eight out of every ten years can be expected to be in drought. However, the study is devoid of information about financing and implementation, and its conclusions rely too much on MET efforts that are decades behind where they should be. Based upon this study and MWDOC’s countywide area of responsibility, MWDOC could conceivably lead Orange County’s efforts to plan, finance, and implement water source and supply projects. MWDOC serves no other purpose than to distribute water and has not attempted to expand its supply of water beyond its engagement with the MET. Previous Orange