Highlights from January 2024

The new year is off to a busy start, and I want to thank our wonderful staff for continuing to implement innovative programs that protect and increase Orange County’s water supplies.

To begin, I want to again offer my heartfelt gratitude to our former general manager and friend Mike Markus, who after 35 years at the Orange County Water District, retired this past month. He leaves behind a tremendous legacy not only in Orange County but throughout the industry.

I welcome John Kennedy into his official new role as the District’s general manager. With more than 40 years of experience in the water and civil engineering industry and most recently serving as the District’s executive director of engineering and water resources, John’s deep understanding of our operations, his leadership skills, and his vision for the future of water resources in Orange County make him the ideal choice to lead OCWD. We are confident that under John’s leadership, OCWD will continue to excel in its mission of providing sustainable water solutions for our 2.5-million-person service area.

The District is an award-winning industry leader in groundwater management, water reuse and water quality. As we move forward, we remain committed to developing sound policy and technological advancements to further strengthen the reliability and resiliency of our local water supplies. 

The OCWD Board of Directors appointed Erik K. Weigand to the Division 7 seat, formerly held by the late Kelly Rowe. Director Weigand is a Newport Beach Council Member with over 20 years of experience in legislative, political, and public policy domains. An Orange County native, Director Weigand has been involved at nearly every level of government from federal and state, down to county and local.

He will represent Division 7, encompassing Costa Mesa and parts of Irvine and Newport Beach, until November 2024 when the seat is up for general election.

Taking place on March 27 & 28 at UCI, the Children’s Water Education Festival will soon welcome thousands of OC elementary students who will learn about protecting water, STEM and more. We need your help! Hosting an event of this magnitude is made possible by our generous sponsors, presenters, and dedicated volunteers. 

• Sponsor: Multiple sponsorship levels are available to meet your organization's needs. Donations are tax-deductible and may be made online or by mail.

• Present: Calling all water, science, and environment-based organizations! The Festival educates third, fourth and fifth grade students about protecting water supplies and the environment. Join us as we educate nearly 6,000 students through hands-on presentations and activities.

• Volunteer: Sign up as a volunteer and help make the Festival a success. The Festival is a great opportunity to earn volunteer/community service hours. Spread the word to your family and friends!

Visit www.childrenwaterfestival.com to sign up today.

The Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS) is open for tours! This award-winning facility recycles 100% of local reclaimable wastewater flows and produces 130 million gallons of high-quality water daily. Water produced at the GWRS meets all state and federal drinking water standards, creating a new and highly reliable source of water for Orange County.

We have many opportunities available and welcome visitors from the general public, schools, colleges, water agencies, community organizations, elected officials and international groups. Please join us for one or more of our tour experiences. We hope to welcome you soon! 

OCWD continues to make significant headway addressing PFAS in Orange County. Sixty-two wells were impacted and more than 30 wells are now back online. PFAS, however, is an ongoing issue that OCWD is proactively tackling in many ways: research, lab analysis, construction of treatment facilities, legislative advocacy, filing a lawsuit to hold polluters accountable and more. If the U.S. EPA finalizes its proposed PFAS regulations, approximately 40 or more wells in Orange County will be impacted and taken offline in the future. 

This is a costly effort that should not be shouldered by our ratepayers. You can take action and reach out to Orange County federal legislators about the importance of upholding the polluter pays principle and protecting ratepayers from the costs of treating PFAS in our water supplies. For more information, please visit OCWD’s PFAS Education Center or view our most recent community update. 

Director of Recharge and Wetland Operations Ben Smith recently presented on OCWD’s stormwater capture program to the South Coast Geological Society. We work in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who operate the Prado Dam, to actively capture and store water behind the dam. This water is then released at rates where OCWD can capture and recharge into the Orange County Groundwater Basin. Learn more about the District's recharge operations in this virtual tour video.

Part of our stormwater capture program includes implementing Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations (FIRO) at Prado. With FIRO, we can better predict storms and atmospheric rivers to make the most of what Mother Nature gives us and store even more water behind the dam. Recharge Planning Manager Adam Hutchinson talks more about this effort in this video about atmospheric rivers.

Congratulations to Ray Hernandez, Maintenance Technician – Grade II who was named the 2023 Employee of the Fourth Quarter and the 2023 Employee of the Year! As the District’s welder, Ray’s fabrication skills are top notch, however, it is Ray’s creativity and positive “can do” attitude that makes him an exceptional and valuable employee. His impact extends beyond his technical expertise as he is always willing to lend a helping hand with projects across all departments. Congratulations on this well-deserved honor, Ray!

This is also a special time of the year where we honor and recognize the great work of our employees during our annual Service Awards ceremony. Our employees are our biggest assets, working hard every day to support our mission of providing a safe, reliable water supply.

In January, we recognize those celebrating service milestones with the agency. Beginning with 5 years and in 5-year increments, some of our employees this year were honored for up to 35 years of service! Congratulations to the 30+ employees recognized this year. We appreciate all that you do!

FIVE YEARS

Pedro Alvaro

Christina Awad

Jacob Bermudez 

Emily Calderon 

Carolyn Carroll

Natasha Issak

Ernie Nunez

Daniel Park

Prem Parmar

Daniel Salas

Kathy Thai

TEN YEARS

Audrey Perry 

Christine Pham

Leticia Villarreal

FIFTEEN YEARS

Gina Ayala

Frank Chavez

Randy Fick

Wes Haydock

Kevin O’Toole

Jim Smith

TWENTY YEARS

Matt Buis

Andre Casasola

Nic Nguyen

Tam Nguyen

Noe Valdez

Rose Wilke

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS

Julio Langarica

Alex Vue

THIRTY YEARS

Ken Ishida

Lorenzo Jackson

THIRTY-FIVE YEARS

Roy Herndon

Mike Markus

Donna Pike

Tim Sovich

Did you catch our 2023 highlights video? Take a look back at a few of the many accomplishments from this past year. We celebrated 90 years of innovation and groundwater management, completed the GWRS, progressed on PFAS issues, and much more. We look forward to another successful year!