The Orange County Water District (OCWD) and East Orange County Water District (EOCWD) celebrated the dedication of a new PFAS treatment plant, marking a major milestone in ensuring safe and reliable water for the region.

The dedication ceremony brought together local, state, and federal representatives to recognize the proactive actions of both agencies in addressing PFAS, a group of manufactured chemicals increasingly found in water sources across the country, including the Orange County Groundwater Basin. The new treatment plant will benefit thousands of residents in the EOCWD service area, including the cities of Orange and Villa Park.

“We are incredibly proud to unveil this state-of-the-art PFAS treatment facility,” said Douglass S. Davert, president of the EOCWD. “This project exemplifies our dedication to providing high-quality water to the communities we serve.”

Since 2019, OCWD has taken the lead in addressing PFAS, in partnership with its 19 cities and retail water districts, to remove them from the groundwater basin, which supplies up to 85% of the water to 2.5 million people. The District is funding design and construction costs, along with a portion of operational and maintenance costs for treatment facilities like this one.

“We didn’t create the PFAS issue, but we are committed to solving it,” said OCWD Second Vice President Van Tran. “By investing in this critical infrastructure, we are safeguarding the quality of our water supply for generations to come.”

The swift completion of this facility was made possible through the support of local elected officials and funding from programs such as the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan and Emerging Contaminant Principal Forgiveness Funding from the State Water Resources Control Board.

The PFAS treatment plant uses ion exchange technology to remove PFAS contaminants from groundwater, ensuring that the water delivered to residents and businesses is exceptional and continues to meet all state and federal drinking water standards.

For more information on OCWD’s PFAS treatment program, visit the PFAS education center.