How OCWD made potable reuse palatable and avoided public opposition to its project

ABSTRACT

The paper provides a description of the efforts taken by the Orange County Water District (the District; OCWD) to insulate itself from public opposition to its potable reuse project, the Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS). We emphasize how important it is to first understand the challenges faced by concurrent projects in Southern California, and the development and execution of OCWD’s outreach programme, which was ongoing and fluid to better anticipate and react to emerging issues. Finally, we demonstrate the importance of continued outreach efforts, outlining the various steps the District has taken to educate people about reuse benefits.

KEYWORDS:

• Orange County Water District
• groundwater replenishment system
• outreach activities
• public engagement
• public affairs
• groundwater basin recharge

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.