Oxnard Water Public Events

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Clair A. Hill Water Agency Award for Excellence Finalist

The City of Oxnard Water Division's Membrane Concentrate Pilot Wetlands Project was one of five finalists for the pretigious Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) 2004 Clair A. Hill Water Agency Award for Excellence.

The ACWA Clair A. Hill Award is an annual program that recognizes outstanding achievements by public water agencies. The winning agency, Carmichael Water Agency, received a $3,000 scholarship to award to a deserving student in the name of Clair A. Hill, founder of the consulting engineering firm, CH2M Hill. The winner was recognized at the association’s conference as well as throughout the year. Other finalists include Santa Clara Valley Water District, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Monterey County Water Resources Agency and San Diego Water Authority.

The Clair A. Hill award was established by ACWA in 1988 at the request of CH2M Hill. Past award recipients include Irvine Ranch Water District (1989), Las Virgenes Municipal Water District (1990), Imperial Irrigation District (1991) Modesto Irrigation District (1992), Orange County Water District (1993), Central Basin Municipal Water District / West Basin Municipal Water District (1994), East Bay Municipal Utility District (1995), Calleguas Municipal Water District (1996), San Diego County Water Authority (1997), Kern Water Bank Authority (1998), Western Canal Water District (1999), the Water Forum (2000), Eastern Municipal Water District (2001), Mid-Peninsula Water District (2002) and Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (2003).

The award was presented to the winner, Carmichael Water District, during the ACWA 2004 Spring Conference in Monterey, California, a statewide event attended by more than 2,000 water officials. Carmichael Water District completed their Surface Water Supply Project, which featured the construction of a Membrane Filtration Water Treatment Plant designed to fit its architectural setting within a residential community. This new plant produces 17 million gallons per day of clean, clear drinking water.

For more information about the City of Oxnard Water Division's Membrane Concentrate Pilot Wetlands Project, visit the GREAT Program.

2004 Children's Water Science Festival

The Water Division held its annual "Children's Water Science Festival" on May 28th with more than 1000 participants in attendance. Nearly 800 were pre-kindergarten through sixth grade students from Oxnard schools. Other attendees included teachers, volunteers and city staff.

The educational event featured 25 hands-on exhibits where children learned about Xeriscape gardening, water conservation, water testing, density, keeping the oceans clean, tide pools and the water cycle. Children also learned about local wetlands by touring the division's Membrane Concentrate Pilot Wetlands Project and watched water science shows presented by Mad Science. One exhibit offered lesson materials for teachers to extend water learning back into the classrooms.

The event received excellent media coverage. It was featured in the Ventura County Star, KEYT television’s evening newscast and other county publications.

The Water Division provided a complimentary meal from In-N-Out Burger and bus transportation for the first 500 participants. Nearly 100 donated prizes were given to students for answering questions about water.

Several City of Oxnard divisions participated, including Fire, Police, Recreation, Solid Waste and Wastewater. The event was in part made possible through generous sponsorships from Aqua Metric, B.C. Rincon Construction, Black & Veatch, DHK Engineers, Diener's Electric, Embroidery Plus, Famcon Pipe, G&R Concrete, Kennedy/Jenks Consultants, Malcolm Pirnie, Mainstreet Architects and Planners, Proctor & Gamble, and Prousys.

The Children's Water Science Festival is part of the Water Division’s community outreach program to inform, educate and reinforce the value of water. This effort includes their quarterly newsletter "H2Oxnard," which is distributed to all city households, educational videos, school resources, water conservation programs, news releases, media advisories and many public events. For more information on the City of Oxnard Water Division’s many projects, programs and services, please visit the other areas of this website.

For a full photo gallery of this year's Children's Water Science Festival, visit our photo gallery. And check out the article published by the Ventura County Star.

GREAT Program Groundwater Desalter Groundbreaking

After several years of planning, the City of Oxnard Water Division will break ground on its Groundwater Recovery Enhancement And Treatment (GREAT) Program Groundwater Desalter. The groundbreaking will be held on Tuesday, May 25, 2004, at the city’s Water Yard located at 251 South Hayes Avenue at 11 a.m.

The Water Division’s Groundwater Desalter will serve blended, quality water to Oxnard residents and other users in the Oxnard plain. It will feature a Reverse Osmosis (RO) Treatment System, Cartridge Filtration System, RO Feed Pumps, Permeate Booster Pump Systems, Chemical Storage and Feed Systems, Electrical Room, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) Control Room, a laboratory and a 600,000-gallon permeate water storage tank. The project will also include a visitor’s center, integrated security/main entrance structure, and landscaping and irrigation.

Congresswoman Lois Capps, 23rd Congressional District of California will serve as the keynote speaker. Capps recently introduced legislation to authorize a federal partnership for the GREAT Program. The "City of Oxnard Water Recycling and Desalination Act of 2004" would authorize the Secretary of the Interior, in cooperation with the City of Oxnard, to participate in the design, planning and construction of the GREAT Program.

"This program will help Oxnard make better use of the water it has, reduce the city’s dependence on imported water and help to prevent steep increases in monthly water bills to the citizens of Oxnard," said Capps. "I am proud to partner with the city for a program that will truly improve our ability to provide sufficient, clean water to the residents of this region."

In addition to groundwater desalination, the GREAT Program combines wastewater recycling and reuse, groundwater injection, storage and recovery and the restoration of local wetlands to provide regional water supply solutions to the Oxnard plain.

"We are proud to break ground on this significant project," said Ken Ortega, Oxnard's water superintendent. "After years of planning and designing, this is a powerful step forward in providing our residents with a reliable and affordable source of high-quality water."

Approximately 100 guests will be in attendance including members of the Oxnard City Council, state and county elected officials, and environmental leaders. A luncheon will follow the program.

For more information, review our media advisory and visit the GREAT Program website.

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