CERCA Webinar with Orange Country Water District

“Co-creating tomorrow: Community Driven Engineering for a Resilient Future” is a webinar series exploring the critical intersection of community wisdom and engineering expertise in the face of a changing climate. Organized by CERCA, CMU CEE’s Center for Engineering Resilience and Climate Adaptation, this series will foster a deeper understanding of how community engagement can enhance the effectiveness, equity, and sustainability of climate adaptation initiatives. The Orange County Water District (OCWD) manages the Orange County Groundwater Basin, which provides approximately 85% of the water supply for 2.5 million people. Maintaining a reliable groundwater supply in a highly urbanized coastal basin requires an integrated approach that includes seawater intrusion protection, water reuse, stormwater capture, and managed aquifer recharge (MAR). Seawater intrusion has been a challenge in the Orange County Groundwater Basin since the 1920s. In response, OCWD constructed the Talbert Seawater Intrusion Barrier in the 1970s, creating a hydraulic barrier to protect the basin from further seawater intrusion. Today, OCWD continues to operate and improve its coastal barriers and is evaluating development of a new barrier in the Sunset Gap to address an additional potential pathway for seawater intrusion. Bill Leever, OCWD Principal Hydrogeologist, will discuss the history, operation, and future of OCWD’s seawater intrusion barrier program. Adam Hutchinson, OCWD Recharge Planning Manager, will discuss how OCWD uses Forecast-Informed Reservoir Operations (FIRO) and MAR to increase the capture and recharge of stormwater while maintaining flood-risk-management objectives. OCWD operates an extensive recharge system along the Santa Ana River and has worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for decades to temporarily store stormwater behind Prado Dam for subsequent release and groundwater recharge. Together, the presentations will illustrate how a coastal groundwater basin can in