Oxnard Water GREAT Program Water Needs

The urbanized areas of the Oxnard Plain are generally located along the southwest coast of Ventura County. Municipal and Industrial (M&I) water supplies are generally provided by the City of Oxnard and the Port Hueneme Water Agency (PHWA), which is the wholesale (M&I) supplier for the City of Port Hueneme, the Channel Islands Community Services District, and two Naval bases. Oxnard is the largest city in the county with an estimated population of 160,000. As its population and employment base continue to grow, its water needs are also rapidly increasing. Port Hueneme Water Agency serves a population of approximately 50,000 and has relatively fixed water requirements.

Oxnard�s current water supplies consist of groundwater from the aquifers underlying the Oxnard Plain and imported State water purchased from the Calleguas Municipal Water District (CMWD). These sources are blended in proportions necessary to balance water quality and water supply cost. The groundwater supplies utilized by Oxnard are either pumped from the Forebay (i.e., ground-water recharge area) and delivered to the City by the United Water Conservation District (UWCD) through its Oxnard-Hueneme (OH) Pipeline, or through extraction facilities owned and operated by the City of Oxnard.

In 1996, Port Hueneme Water Agency implemented its Water Quality Improvement Program to meet its water supply requirements and improve water quality. This program allows for the conjunctive use of desalinated groundwater provided by the United Water Conservation District and imported water provided by the Calleguas Municipal Water District. The cornerstone of the program is the three (3) million gallon per day (mgd) Brackish Water Reclamation Demonstration Facility (BWRDF), which desalinates local groundwater supplied by United Water Conservation District. The Brackish Water Reclamation Demonstration Facility also serves as a side-by-side demonstration of the three (3) technologies commonly used for brackish water desalination. Due to the success of this facility, the Port Hueneme Water Agency is currently planning its expansion in cooperation with the Calleguas Municipal Water District.

To manage groundwater extractions from the Oxnard Plain aquifers, the Fox Canyon Groundwater Management Agency (GMA) has been implementing staged reductions in the allowable amount of pumping by groundwater users, including the United Water Conservation District and Oxnard. To date, reductions of fifteen percent (15%) from 1985-1989 pumping levels have been implemented and two additional five percent (5%) reductions are scheduled for 2005 and 2010. Even with these reductions of groundwater extractions, localized problems, including severely depressed groundwater levels in the Pleasant Valley area remain to be addressed. Imported water deliveries are also approaching the limits of the Calleguas Municipal Water District�s delivery system and costly capacity expansions will be necessary.

But together with regional water professionals, the City of Oxnard has a solution ...