OCWD manages the Orange County Groundwater Basin ("Basin") in northern and central Orange County in order to support a variety of beneficial uses, including potable and non-potable water supply.  The City owns and operates 13 water wells to produce 75% of the City’s water supply.  Five of the City’s wells will be taken offline due to the State’s adoption in February 2020 of response levels of 10 parts per trillion for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and 40 parts per trillion for perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), two types of PFAS that have been found at two wells at levels higher than the response levels established by the State.  The two wells are currently offline, and three additional wells are expected to be taken offline once second and third quarter testing is completed. 

In order to assist water producers and to facilitate cleanup of PFAS from the Basin, OCWD has proposed to pay for the design and construction of treatment facilities consisting of a filtering system to remove PFAS from the Basin, which will allow the City to continue to operate its wells while at the same time cleaning the Basin of PFAS. With wells out of production, the City must purchase water from the Metropolitan Water District, which costs almost double the amount it costs the City to produce water from the Basin.

The attached PFAS Program Agreement contains the following general provisions:

• OCWD agrees to fund the costs of design and construction of PFAS treatment facilities to remove PFAS from City well water to allow the City to continue producing water from the Basin.  Once constructed, the facilities will be transferred to the City for operation and maintenance.  The City could design and build its own facilities in consultation with OCWD, and OCWD will reimburse the City the costs of such design and construction.

• OCWD will fund 50% of the operation and maintenance costs of the facilities, up to $75/acre-foot of water treated by the facilities.  The $75/acre-foot rate will be adjusted annually per CPI. 

• The City must secure or provide the land and land use entitlements where the facilities will be located.

• The City must operate the facilities for 30 years, or until PFAS is no longer detected at the levels established by the State.

• The parties may seek grants and other third party funding mechanisms, which will be shared by the parties according to the grant or funding program.

• The parties will cooperate with each other in pursuing cost recovery and other compensation for damages against responsible parties, including chemical manufacturers of PFAS.  The Agreement provides for releases of liability between the parties, and for liability assigned to each party according to their performance under the agreement.

It is recommended that the City Council:

• Approve the PFAS Program Agreement with OCWD; and

• Authorize the City Manager to sign it, and to approve minor modifications as deemed necessary.