Baker Water Treatment Plant: Drink up, South O.C.
Through the cooperation of five local water agencies, the Baker Water Treatment Plant serves 28.1 million gallons a day.
2017
Lake Forest
28.1 million gallons of drinking water
Irvine Ranch Water District
In pressurized microfiltration, water is pushed through fibers narrow enough to filter out 0.1-micron pathogens and particles. The plant is equipped with 1,624 of these 7-foot modules, containing 11 million hollow fibers.
Wash water from microfiltration is captured in these inclined plate settlers, where solids settle out. Once clarified, the water is recycled back through the treatment process. 98% of water that enters this plant makes it back out to customers.
The facility has two ultraviolet disinfection units with 72 lamps each, for 100% redundancy. The ultraviolet light deactivates any remaining pathogens before the water goes through final disinfection in the plant’s chlorine contact basin.
Learn more
Get more information about the collaboration behind the Baker Water Treatment Plant, and see its Environmental Impact Report (updated annually).
Frequently Asked Questions
The Baker plant treats local rainwater, plus raw imported Colorado River water purchased from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
IRWD stores the rain in Irvine Lake. Metropolitan stores the river water in Lake Mathews. Water flows through pipelines from the lakes to the Baker plant, where it is purified. From there, the water is piped to the five partner agencies.