Michael Markus Oversees Massive Water Reuse Project

Water district general manager shepherds project through to completion

Grappling with a shrinking water supply due to drought and increased competition for resources, the Orange County, California Water District (OCWD) made the decision in the early 1990s to build a new advanced water-treatment plant and supporting pipelines that would indirectly replenish the county’s water supply.

The Orange County Water District The project faced initial opposition.

This year, the county completed work on the $480-million project, whose centerpiece is a 70-million-gallon-a-day advanced-membrane treatment plant, the largest indirect potable reuse plant of its kind.

Michael Markus, OCWD general manager and a 19-year veteran of the department, was charged with overseeing the project since the design phase began early in the 2000s.

Multimedia  View Award of Excellence Luncheon and Acceptance Speech of Michael Markus  April 3, 2008

“Mike has done a remarkable job,” says OCWD board member and former board president Philip Anthony. “It was a very big project with a lot of players, a lot of consultants…and he oversaw all of it, and kept all of those things under control…with good leadership.”

In addition to overseeing design and construction teams, Markus led efforts to educate community leaders and elected officials about the project, which faced some initial opposition from groups with “sewer to tap” concerns. “We tried to educate people as to what we were doing and were very open and transparent in the process,” Markus says.

Markus calls the project a “once in a lifetime” opportunity. “This is a one-of-a-kind project, and it’s such a good project, because we’re taking a resource that otherwise would be wasted, and we’re reclaiming it.”