Fiscal Responsibility
Mesa Water is on track to receive a AAA bond rating, which will save customers millions as the District maintains and replaces infrastructure in an orderly manner.
Mesa Water is on course to become one of only a small number of public agencies in California to achieve a AAA bond rating, which is a signal to ratepayers that the District has been, and will continue to be, careful stewards of public funds. Mesa Water is taking steps to improve its current AA bond rating from Standard & Poor’s to AAA, thus enabling the District to more cost-effectively maintain and replace its water-supply infrastructure. To improve the District’s credit rating, Mesa Water has been reducing its overhead costs and debt. Mesa Water has one of the lowest staff-tocustomer ratios in Orange County, and the District recently refinanced its outstanding debt to save customers $2 million. In addition, for the seventeenth consecutive year, Mesa Water received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association, a nod to the District’s fiscally conservative practices.
Remembering the Past,
E n gaging the Communit y Mesa Water formed the Water Issues Study Group (WISG) in 1986 to inform community members about water issues. This six-month adult program educates Mesa Water customers on topics such as water conservation, reclaimed water, and the availability of future water supplies. WISG participants learn from Mesa Water’s expert employees and guest speakers, and conduct discussions on how to solve water issues on the local, regional, and state-wide levels. Since the WISG program began, more than 700 Mesa Water customers have taken part, and participants are encouraged to share their knowledge with others in order to expand water awareness throughout the community. Sessions take place in the District’s boardroom from January to June, and are open to any Mesa Water customer.
Since its formation in 1986, the Water Issues Study Group has educated more than 700 customers on water issues.
The Mesa Water Mission DIRECTOR DIVISIONS
Mesa Consolidated Water District is dedicated to satisfying our community’s water needs.
MESA CONSOLIDATED WATER DISTRICT
Sunflower Sunflower (northern boundary)
I-4
South Coast Plaza
05
I-405
t or
L IL
Ai rp
DH
W ay
ne
RE
Y
55
FW
FW
Y
73
Baker
Focusing on the Future Mesa Consolidated Water District
Harbor
Jo
hn
Orange County Fairgrounds
tB
lvd
Victoria
IR VIN
E
(e
as
te
55
rn
bo
FW
Y/
un da
Ne
ry )
wp
or
19th
Mesa Consolidated Water District 1965 Placentia Avenue Costa Mesa, CA 92627 www. mesawater.org
Ou r H istory The Costa Mesa its local supplies County Water and working toward District was formed becoming 100 percent on January 1, 1960, self-reliant. when four local water Mesa Water built providers merged (the new pipelines, wells, City of Costa Mesa’s reservoirs, and other Water Department, infrastructure in order Fairview County Water to expand its local District, Newport water distribution, Heights Irrigation production, and District, and Newport storage. In 1992, Mesa Mesa County Water Water participated District). The new in a recycled water district’s combined treatment program resources, along and, in 1999,, Mesa with an independent Water broke ground Board of Directors on its Colored Water Mesa Water’s first reservoir was completed in 1990. With a capacity of 10 million gallons, the focused solely on Treatment Facility to reservoir helped reduce the District’s reliance on expensive imported water. water, allowed the remove the amber color new agency to build and improve its infrastructure with the top priority of from otherwise high-quality water deep within in the local local aquifer. providing safe, reliable water to its customers. With a focus on sustainability, Mesa Water now serves more than When the District was formed, most of its water was imported from 110,000 customers in an 18-square-mile area, and 92 percent of the water the Colorado River and, as the price of imported water started to rise in the provided comes from local sources. Mesa Water’s service area has grown 1970s, the District turned to its own groundwater supplies. to include the City of Costa Mesa, parts of Newport Beach, and John In 1977, the District moved into its current location on Placentia Wayne Airport Dedicated to satisfying the community’s water needs, Avenue, and changed its name the following year to Mesa Consolidated Mesa Water is pursuing a goal of becoming 100 percent self-reliant on Water District (Mesa Water) as a tribute to its history. With its new local supplies by 2012. identity and independent headquarters, Mesa Water focused on increasing
Early farmers used water from artesian wells to irrigate their crops. Groundwater makes up 87 percent of the District’s water supply.
Governor Pat Brown signs the Costa Mesa District Merger Law in 1959, which allowed for the consolidation and formation of Mesa Water.
A Reliable Local Water Supply
Mesa Water has a vision to be 100 percent self-reliant on local water sources by 2012. Thanks to the discovery, treatment, and use of a diversified water supply, along with its conservation efforts, the District is well on its way to reaching this goal. The quest for local self-reliance began nearly 40 years ago when Mesa Water drilled its first well in 1971 to reduce the District’s dependence on expensive imported water. Today, 92 percent of Mesa Water’s supply comes from locally produced and highly drought-tolerant sources. The District’s main sources of water are its shallow clear-water wells, which meet 62 percent of demand. Through partnerships with other local agencies, Mesa Water also provides recycled water for irrigation purposes. Additionally, Mesa Water sits above a portion of the Orange County groundwater basin that stores a supply of amber-colored water hundreds of feet below the clear-water reserves. This colored water is safe to drink and of higher quality than expensive, less reliable water imported from Northern California and the Colorado River. For the past 40 years, Mesa Water has been advancing colored water treatment technology to provide customers with a more reliable water supply. Today, the District’s Colored Water Treatment Facility meets 25 percent of the District’s demand, and protects regional supplies by keeping the colored water separate from the clear-water portions of the basin. Construction begins next year on Colored Water Treatment Facility improvements that, when completed in 2012, will result in Mesa Water getting closer to its goal of 100 percent self-reliance on local water supplies. • Colored Water Treatment Facility expansion at a glance • Groundbreaking: 1999 • Dedication: November 28, 2000 • Improvements Begin: Early 2011 • Expected Completion: Mid 2012 • Future Capacity: 10,000 gallons per minute • Key Benefits: Cost and energy savings; reliable, drought-tolerant water supply
The expanded Colored Water Treatment Facility will bring Mesa Water closer to its goal of 100 percent self-reliance on local supplies.