Orange County Water District

Re "Water District Deal for Pumps Draws Criticism" (Jan. 15): As a professional in the purchasing field, I find the issues covered in this article to be disturbing. When the Orange County Water District is getting ready to spend $1.3 million in public funds with no justification, I question the ability of this agency to allocate public money. It appears that two questionable statements in the report forwarded to the board members led to a decision that could cost the people in Orange County up to an additional $450,000 in increased water bills.

Four of the seven public agencies that voluntarily participate in Orange County's investment portfolio have withdrawn almost all their cash in recent months amid concerns over Treasurer Chriss Street, and others are reviewing whether to keep their money in the pool, according to public finance managers. Voluntary investors in the pool make up a small fraction of the total, and the amount withdrawn -- just under $4 million -- is a pittance in the county's overall $6.95-billion investment fund.

Orange County's reliance on expensive imported water is expected to increase significantly over the next 20 years, raising the prospect of higher bills for consumers and prompting officials to seek new sources of less-costly local ground water. Job growth and new residential developments across the county should increase overall water demand by 30% by 2020, according to new estimates by the Orange County Water District.

As a hedge against water shortages and population growth, Orange County has begun operating the world's largest, most modern reclamation plant -- a facility that can turn 70 million gallons of treated sewage into drinking water every day. The new purification system at the Orange County Water District headquarters in Fountain Valley cost about $490 million and comprises a labyrinth of pipes, filters, holding tanks and pumps across 20 acres.

The Orange County Water District has filed suit against a group of major oil companies, seeking money to investigate and monitor the gasoline additive MTBE and stop it from seeping into underground drinking water supplies.

The Orange County Water District is hosting O.C. Water 101, a free class for the community to learn the basics about water in Orange County. The class will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday at the Orange County Water District headquarters, 10500 Ellis Ave., Fountain Valley. To sign up, call (714) 378-3217. To check your knowledge on water, see www.ocwd.com and take the "What's Your H2O IQ?" quiz.

Anaheim Councilman Bob Zemel was recently named to the board of the Orange County Water District, which provides water service to nearly 2 million residents. Zemel was appointed to the 10-member board of directors in July by the Anaheim City Council. He has already taken his seat on the water panel, officials said. Zemel was elected to the City Council in 1994 and previously served as director of the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce.

Turning to freeway warning signs to get their message across, Orange County officials said Wednesday the area could face a water crisis if residents failed to step up their conservation practices. For many, the first indication that anything was amiss were the Caltrans warnings -- 35 of them -- that materialized on the Santa Ana, Orange, San Diego, Riverside and Costa Mesa freeways. "ORANGE COUNTY WATER EMERGENCY CONSERVE WATER," the signs read.

Oil giant Shell has agreed to pay an "unlimited" amount to fund underground cleanup of its contaminated Orange County gas stations, a total that could exceed $170 million, prosecutors said Thursday. Houston-based Shell Oil Products US is the last of three oil companies to settle with the district attorney's office since prosecutors filed the environmental protection lawsuit six years ago.

The Orange County Water District has sued a group of mostly large industrial manufacturers that it contends has failed to clean up toxic chemicals that have seeped into the ground and threaten the water supply for more than 2 million residents. Though none of the chemicals was detected in county drinking water, routine monitoring near former industrial sites in Fullerton and Anaheim turned up traces of the solvent perchloroethylene, or PCE, a suspected carcinogen.

The Orange County Water District board has voted to raise rates in the spring to make up for the loss of $15.4 million in local property tax revenues to the state, district officials said Friday. Water customers in north and central county will see their monthly bills increase by about 60 to 70 cents, officials said. The surcharge will go into effect in April and continue for two years. The district manages and distributes groundwater supplies that serve 2.

Two critical Orange County public works projects and a slew of smaller ones were awarded nearly $30 million this week by Congress and now await President Bush's signature. Receiving the most money -- $21.85 million -- is a decades-long project to avert flooding along the Santa Ana River. The $1.3-billion project is about 75% complete, said Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach), whose bills provided the additional money. A total of $2.

Yorba Linda Water District officials said they have filed a $23.5-million lawsuit against the county water agency over a dispute that stems from a 34-year-old agreement. In the complaint, filed Thursday in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana, the Yorba Linda district alleges that the Orange County Water District has failed to honor a 1970 contract that obligates the county agency to supply up to 2,800 acre-feet of water annually to eastern Yorba Linda residents free of charge.

Plans to protect and replenish Orange County's vast underground supply of fresh water advanced this week when government officials approved construction of a $292-million filtration plant that will process treated sewage before it is injected into the reservoir.

A longtime Placentia councilman who also serves as an Orange County Sanitation District board member apparently broke state law when he accepted a $1,000 campaign donation from an engineering company just days after voting to approve a new contract and a contract increase for the company. Campaign finance documents further show that Councilman Norman Z.