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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Lois Capps today celebrated the passage of legislation to authorize a comprehensive regional water resources development project in Oxnard. The City of Oxnard Water Recycling and Desalination Act of 2005 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior, in cooperation with the City of Oxnard, to participate in the design and planning of the Groundwater Recovery Enhancement and Treatment (GREAT) Project in Ventura County. The bill passed the House of Representatives today. Congresswoman Capps hopes the bill will come before the Senate for a vote soon.
The GREAT Program combines wastewater recycling and reuse, groundwater injection, storage and recovery, and groundwater desalination to provide regional water supply solutions to the Oxnard community.
“This is a “great” day for the City of Oxnard,” said Capps. “The House’s vote of approval today is another significant step towards making this important legislation law and I hope that the Senate will consider this legislation soon. The GREAT Project will help the Oxnard community use its precious water resources more efficiently, reducing the need for imported water and helping to prevent substantial increases in cost of water for Oxnard citizens. This project presents an innovative solution to a serious local problem and I am committed to helping the community address their need for a clean, reliable, local water supply. I will continue to work closely with the City of Oxnard to ensure that this program will improve our ability to supply adequate clean water to the community.”
"Congresswoman Capps' commitment to getting HR2334 passed has been vital to our efforts in providing for the water needs of Oxnard's residents well into the future,” said Oxnard's Mayor Holden. “On behalf of the City Council, I thank her for her continued support for regional water supply solutions in her district."
"Congresswoman Capps has been a staunch supporter of this program over the short time Oxnard has been a part of her Congressional District,” said City Manager Edmund Sotelo. “We are very grateful for her efforts and commitment in representing her Oxnard constituents in this matter of vital importance and survival."
"It has been a pleasure to work hand-in-hand with Congresswoman Capps on the passage of HR 2334,” said Mayor Pro Tem Herrera. “Her understanding and tenacity have been key to getting the House Resource Committee to act on the legislation and gain House approval of this important bill."
"Working with Congresswoman Capps and her staff over the past several years has been an absolute pleasure,” said Public Works Director Ken Ortega “Her unwavering support of the GREAT Program and her tireless efforts to pass HR 2334 will be appreciated by Oxnard residents for generations to come."
A Copy Of The Congresswoman’s Floor Speech Follows:
The Honorable Lois Capps
Statement on H.R. 2334, the City of Oxnard Water Recycling and Desalination Act of 2005
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2334, the City of Oxnard Water Recycling and Desalination Act.
First, I want to thank my colleagues from California, the chairman of the Resources Committee, Mr. Pombo, the chairman and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Water and Power, Mr. Radanovich and Ms. Napolitano, as well as the ranking member of the full Committee, Mr. Rahall for expediting the consideration of this legislation and for bringing H.R. 2334 before us today.
H.R. 2334 would authorize a proposed regional water resources project – the Groundwater Recovery Enhancement and Treatment or GREAT Program – located in my congressional district.
As you know, many communities today are faced with the difficult task of providing reliable and safe water to their customers. The City of Oxnard is no exception.
Oxnard is one the California’s fastest growing cities in California and is facing an ever growing crisis: it’s running out of affordable water. The water needs for the city’s agricultural and industrial base, together with its growing population, has exceeded its local water resources. Consequently, over 50 percent of its water has to be imported from outside sources.
However, through a series of local, state and federal restrictions the amount of imported water available to the city is shrinking, while the cost of that water is rising. Recognizing these challenges, Oxnard developed the GREAT Program to address its long term water needs.
The GREAT Program elements include:
- a new regional groundwater desalination facility to serve potable water customers in Oxnard and adjacent communities;
- a recycled water system to serve agricultural water users, and added protection against seawater intrusion and saltwater contamination;
- and a wetlands restoration and enhancement component that efficiently reuses the brine discharges from both the groundwater desalination and recycled water treatment facilities.
Implementation of the GREAT Program will provide many significant regional benefits.
First, the new desalination component will serve ratepayers in Oxnard and adjacent communities, guaranteeing sufficient water supplies for the area.
Second, Oxnard’s current water infrastructure delivers approximately 30 million gallons of treated wastewater per day to an ocean outfall. The GREAT Program will utilize the resource currently wasted to the ocean and treat it so that it can be reused by the agricultural water users in the area.
During the non-growing season, it will inject the resources into to the groundwater to serve as a barrier against seawater intrusion and saltwater contamination. To alleviate severely depressed groundwater levels, this component also includes pumping groundwater into the aquifer to enhance groundwater recharge.
Finally, the brine produced as a by-product of the desalination and recycling plants will provide a year-round supply of nutrient rich water to the existing wetlands at Ormond Beach.
Mr. Speaker, I commend the Resources Committee for trying to find innovative and effective ways of extending water supplies in the West. In my view, the City of Oxnard Water Recycling and Desalination Act offers such a creative solution. It will reduce the consumption of groundwater for agricultural and industrial purposes, cut imported water delivery requirements, and improve local reliability of high quality water deliveries.
Again, I would like to thank the Committee on Resources for supporting this bill, and urge its immediate passage.
I yield back the balance of my time.
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Pictured above: (center) Congresswoman Capps meets with Central Coast firefighters to discuss emergency preparedness.
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