The Baker Water Treatment Plant is a drinking water treatment plant located in the City of Lake Forest that can treat up to 28.1 million gallons of water per day. The project was a joint regional project by SMWD and four other South Orange County water districts in order to provide increased water supply reliability, improved water quality, and local control of water supplies.
The plant went online in January 2017 and in it's first year produced water that was $150 less expensive than treated water imported from Metropolitan Water District (MWD).
Benefits of Baker Water Treatment Plant
- Increased Water Supply Reliability: The Baker Water Treatment Plant provides increased water supply reliability to South Orange County by increasing local treatment capability from multiple water supply sources, including imported untreated water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) through the Santiago Lateral and local surface water from Irvine Lake.
- Protection in Emergencies: The plant provides a reliable local drinking water supply during emergencies or extended facility shutdowns on the MWD delivery system. It also increases operational flexibility by creating redundancy within the water conveyance system.
- Improved Water Quality: The Baker Water Treatment Plant utilizes advanced micro filtration treatment and ultraviolet disinfection technologies to produce water that meets standards stricter than current regulatory requirements, resulting in a consistent, high quality source of drinking water for South Orange County.
- Sustainable and Efficient: The plant is designed to minimize waste through on-site recycling and treatment of waste streams, resulting in a 99% recovery efficiency.
- Complements the Community: Consistent multi-agency involvement and collaboration throughout the project's planning and design phases have resulted in an architectural designed plant which blends into the surrounding neighborhood.
