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Move follows new state-mandated testing for water district Message from the General Manager EOCWD provides safe, reliable and high-quality drinking water meeting all state and federal standards to customers in our service area. Because we value the trust you and your family place in us as your water provider, we are writing to tell you about recent state-required monitoring which will change the source of the water we provide to you for the foreseeable future. The California State Water Resources Control Board’s Division of Drinking Water (DDW) recently required testing by water agencies across the state for two PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) compounds in groundwater wells. At EOCWD, we currently obtain a majority of our water from our local groundwater basin, which is managed by the Orange County Water District. PFAS are chemicals prevalent in the environment and were once commonly used in many consumer products including carpets, clothing, furniture fabrics, paper food packaging, water/stain/grease resistant materials and fire-fighting foam used at airfields. For more information on PFAS, visit: www.ocwd.com/what-we-do/water-quality/pfoapfos/. Wells utilized by EOCWD tested positive for both of the PFAS compounds at 22.2 and 28.2 parts per trillion, which exceeds the “notification” level established by DDW. This standard is well below the federal requirement for “response,” which is 70 parts per trillion. At the "response" level, the State recommends that the wells be taken out of service. On the day the first test samples were taken – and even before we received the results, we decided to shut down our wells and no longer serve this water to our customers. We began using other sources to meet your drinking water needs. We took this action because we value your trust, and we wanted to ensure that you know that we will do whatever it takes to retain that trust.  The health science studies on this issue are limited and few, but there is a growing concern about these chemicals. Water agencies throughout the nation, as well as local cities such as Fullerton, Anaheim, Orange, Santa Ana and Yorba Linda, are grappling with this issue that has arisen largely in just the past six months. California has adopted the strictest standards for PFAS in the nation, but unfortunately, the science on how to best remove these contaminants lags the regulations. Your water is safe to drink. But your thoughts will also naturally turn to, “How much will a fix cost?” That is a fair question. The water supply that we have had to turn to is imported water – this water costs two times what our local groundwater supply costs. Our Board of Directors has asked the staff to work within our existing budget to absorb as much of these costs as we can, and to defer all non-essential operating and capital projects. Because of this action, we will live within the planned rate increase that is scheduled for February 2020. We are working with the Orange County Water District, the agency that is responsible for the water quality of the groundwater basin, to determine what we can do to fix this problem. The solution will probably involve a water treatment process that will need to be designed and constructed near our wells. By this fall, we hope to have a better sense of what that system might be. We are encouraged that universities and the private sector are marshalling their resources to help solve this mammoth problem. Please do not hesitate to call me, or our District Engineer Jeff Smyth, at 714-538-5815 if you have any questions about this issue. We will keep you updated as concrete information develops. Click here to view our fact sheet: PFAS Facts

EOCWD's General Manager Lisa Ohlund spoke before a group of innovators UC Irvine for Sustain OC's August program: "Water Solutions 3: Stretching Water Resources." Ohlund provided examples of how EOCWD is meeting sustainability challenges and shared a "wish list" of needed water infrastructure improvements such as communication-reliable, hacking-secure automatic meter reading, which improves data reliability and includes security features to protect vital water infrastructure from Internet of Things (IoT) hacking. Ohlund also mentioned continuing efforts to produce low cost water treatment that would make capturing and treating urban water runoff safe and affordable for use as a water supply. The program was hosted by Sustain OC, which conducts conferences, workshops and networking events to help in the sharing of knowledge and establish connections that have a positive impact on both the economic progress and sustainable future of the Orange County.

EOCWD will be in your neighborhood making sewer repairs and upgrades to better serve you. • Sewer pipe replacement and paving • Construction July 9-Aug 10 • Intersection of Browning Ave and Irvine Blvd • Expect traffic delays in the affected area QUESTIONS? Please contact Jerry Mendzer, Operations Manager, at 714-538-5815 (Ext 202) or jmendzer@eocwd.com. Street closure map. Click to enlarge.

At the June 21, 2018 EOCWD Board of Directors meeting, the Board unanimously accepted and approved the agency's 2018 Water Quality Report. The report covers the calendar year 2017 drinking water quality testing and reporting. EOCWD vigilantly safeguards it water supply and, as in years past, the water delivered to homes meets the quality standards required by federal and state regulatory agencies. To view, read, or download the 2018 report use the link below. http://bit.ly/EOCWD-WQR2018

AlertOC is a mass notification program, on the Everbridge platform, that Orange County and participating cities use to issue government-related messages to residents and businesses. The system can send thousands of messages within minutes via phone, e-mail and text. Only authorized officials are allowed access to the system. Sign up online by going to www.alertoc.com. How does it work? Authorized officials record a voice, e-mail or text message that’s then delivered quickly to appropriate individuals in the notification system. The primary use of the system will be to disseminate messages pertaining to the health, safety, or welfare of a community that’s being affected by a perceived, emerging, or imminent emergency event. You may also choose to subscribe to non-emergency messages from participating cities or agencies. Your local government and Everbridge take your security and privacy concerns seriously. Policy and contract agreements have been put into practice that prohibit AlertOC contact information from being shared, sold, traded, leased or loaned to outside parties. Staff access to your contact information is limited and approved at many layers. Contact information transmitted through the web portal is sent over a secure connection.

East Orange County Water District’s Reyna Ayala was featured in Government Fleet magazine in a recent issue on how even small agencies can find ways to operate in a more energy efficient way, without spending hundreds of thousands of ratepayer dollars. Ayala is pictured with one of the District’s clean vehicles, a plug-in Ford Fusion. Take a look at the full story here.

Attention shower songstresses, EOCWD has created a Spotify playlist that time your shower and tests your vocal prowess. Taking shorter showers is a good way to save water, time and money. Check out EOCWD’s "Five Minute Shower" Spotify playlist. Who knew that showering could be so much fun? Here's a sample of what's on our list: Big River - Johnny Cash Bathwater - No Doubt Beyond The Sea - Bobby Darin Octopus's Garden - The Beatles Take Me To The River - Al Green It's Raining Again - Supertramp Cry Me A River - Justin Timberlake See our whole list by clicking here. You're Welcome!

In-Street Sewer Line Repairs: Browning Avenue: As we recently announced, we will be in the Tustin area over the next 60-90 days making improvements to your sewer system. Affecting Tustin Memorial Academy – Construction Delay Due to unknown circumstances involving soil conditions, the sewer replacement project Browning at La Colina has been delayed. Construction was expected to be completed on 12/28/17 but is now expected to conclude by 1/10/18 or 1/11/18 at the latest. However, EOCWD will schedule construction around pick-up and drop-off times, and traffic will not be impeded during pick-up and drop-off times of 7:55 a.m.-8:20 a.m and 2:35 p.m.-3 p.m. Heavy equipment will remain in the area for the duration of the project, and students should stay away for their safety. Once construction is complete, re-paving will occur several weeks later (definitive dates will be provided). Re-paving will also be scheduled so it does not interfere with school drop-off and pick-up times. Affecting Utt Middle School Construction at Browning and Bent Twig Lane will commence on 1/8/18 and is expected to be completed within approximately three weeks, however, this project could also be delayed due to soil conditions. School traffic for Utt Middle School is expected to be minimally impacted due to the existence of four-laning along Browning Avenue in that area. To better serve our residents and parents with school children, we are moving a planned third segment of the project at Browning and Irvine Blvd to summer 2018 when school is not in session.

EOCWD will be working throughout the service area making sewer repairs and upgrades. Over the next 60-90 days, you may see our team working on projects large and small, which are designed to ensure reliable service with as little disruption as possible. Maps & Project Listings · Sewer Repair Map - Full Length & Sectional · Sewer Repair Map - Open Trench Improvement Locations · Award of Contract - Sancon Engineering · Award of Contract - Beador Construction Company · Award of Contract - Performance Pipeline Technologies Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact our office at 714-538-5815.

Metropolitan Water District includes 26 cities & water agencies serving nearly 19M in 6 counties. The agency has been actively pursuing the statewide California Waterfix. Why is this initiative so important? Watch the following video to learn more.

ORANGE, CALIF. – Thank you to our first responders for protecting homes and property in our service area. Firefighters also prevented damage to an EOCWD water reservoir and pump station, which helped ensure uninterrupted service for our water customers. We are also working with fire officials to ensure they maintain access to water as they continue to fight the fire, keeping our tanks full and our pumps up and running. Updates on the fire's location and services that may be affected can be found on the map below.

Watch our latest video about the California Water Fix project that will insure a safe and secure water delivery system for decades to come and protect Orange County's precious water supply.