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Moulton Niguel is also working to facilitate regional partnerships with nearby agencies and the 5 different cities the District serves .
“ We have worked hard to develop strong partnerships with all our local agencies and create a unified approach to meeting the water needs of not only our service area , but also the needs of the region and California . We are meeting with multiple agencies through various forums to discuss and address critical water supply , operational , and regulatory issues that affect everyone here in South Orange County and the state ” Lopez said .
One such project it ’ s collaborating on is the 28 million gallon per day Baker Water Treatment Plant , which will be completed in 2016 . Along with 4 other water agencies , Moulton Niguel will be a major stakeholder in this water treatment facility in Lake Forest , California , which will increase local reliability and extend the District ’ s ability to serve its customers with adequate water supplies during emergency situations .
Stepping Up Conservation Emergency situations may come sooner rather than later , though , due to California ’ s crippling drought . Lopez feels that Moulton Niguel ’ s forward-thinking policies put them in a good position to handle the crisis .
“ For many years , the District has been proactive — and even visionary — in our conservation efforts ,” she said . “ We provide rebate incentives for various programs and devices , and have for many years . We also have recently implemented an allocationbased rate structure that ’ s fairly progressive , which we call our Water Budget Based Rate Structure .”
This proactive rate structure takes several factors into account to customize a water budget for each individual customer based on their own water needs . Using more water means rates are paid in a higher tier , which is allowed , and the money goes toward water efficiency , conservation and reliability efforts within the community . It ’ s a rate structure the State of California is becoming increasingly interested in , as it incentivizes using water
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