World Record for Most Wastewater Recycled to Drinking Water In 24 Hours?

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World Record for Most Wastewater Recycled to Drinking Water In 24 Hours?

To commemorate 10 years of breakthrough technology to enhance the reliability of local water supplies, the Orange County Water District (OCWD) and Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD) announced they will attempt to set a Guinness World RecordsTM title for the most wastewater recycled to drinking water in 24 hours.

The two districts, collaborators in the world’s largest water purification facility of its kind—the Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS), will also host a free community event on Feb. 16 to celebrate the project’s anniversary and the official record attempt.

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Image credit: OCDW

“For one 24-hour period, we hope the world’s focus will be on the future of water, the accomplishments of advanced water purification, and the potential for global water reliability,” said OCWD President Denis Bilodeau. “I’m proud that our agencies had the vision to implement this local solution more than a decade ago that has helped us better weather drought, increase local water reliability and stands as a model for world-wide use.”

“We invite the Orange County community to have some fun, to help us celebrate our 10-year anniversary of the GWRS and to be part of history,” said OCSD Chairman and GWRS Steering Committee Vice-Chair Greg Sebourn. “The world record will highlight a very sustainable practice producing safe drinking water that ensures long-term reliability of local supplies.”

The start of the world record – to produce the most wastewater recycled to drinking water – begins at 3 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 15. After the 24-hour period ends on Friday, Feb. 16, officials will tabulate and verify the results. The official record announcement will come during the community “Winter Fest” that will be held from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the GWRS facility, 18700 Ward Street, Fountain Valley, Calif. 

Tours of the world-famous GWRS will be offered on Feb. 16 at 4:30 p.m., 4:45 p.m., 5:00 p.m., 5:15 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 5:45 p.m., and 6:00 p.m. Space is limited and all participants must be age 11 or older. The tour involves long periods of walking, standing and climbing stairs, and lasts 30-40 minutes. Registration is required.

Click here to register for a tour.

The event will include snow slides and a snow play area, food trucks, music and prizes. Attendees will also receive commemorative bottles of purified recycled water. Since last summer, OCWD and OCSD have been handing out thousands of these bottles as part of a statewide education effort to demonstrate the advancements of purifying recycled water.

Currently, regulations limit the use of advanced purified water to replenish groundwater basins even though the GWRS facility creates water that exceeds state and federal drinking water standards. California law AB 2022, adopted in 2016, seeks to expand the public’s awareness of water treatment advancements by allowing agencies to bottle highly purified recycled water to be distributed for free as an educational tool. The water is so pure, it is near-distilled in quality.

The awareness effort is occurring as the state marches toward direct potable reuse of such water. The GWRS currently produces 100 million gallons a day of highly purified recycled water to inject back into the Orange County Groundwater Basin, managed by OCWD, and to prevent seawater intrusion.

Work will soon be under way to expand the capacity of the GWRS to produce 130 million gallons a day of purified recycled water—enough for 1 million people.

For more information about the GWRS and the event, visit www.ocwd.com/gwrs

Watch a video about Groundwater Replenishment System

Press Release by OCWD

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