Where Does Our Water Come From?

The City of Port Hueneme’s primary source of water is from the Port Hueneme Water Agency (PHWA). The PHWA is a Joint-Powers Agency that provides wholesale water to the City, Naval Base Ventura County Port Hueneme and Point Mugu, and the Channel Islands Beach Community Services District.

Water Treatment Plant

The City of Port Hueneme operates the water treatment plant on behalf of the PHWA. The treatment plant uses two proven desalination technologies, namely Reverse Osmosis (RO), and Nanofiltration (NF) to produce high quality drinking water. The United Water Conservation District (UWCD) delivers the source water for these processes from their El Rio water wells to the PHWA Brackish Water Reclamation Demonstration Facility (Treatment Plant). The treatment plant purifies and softens the well water by removing calcium salts (hardness) and other constituents.

The two processes are operated side-by-side product about 3.5 million gallons per day by Reverse Osmosis and Nanofiltration. The City receives about 80% of its water through this system.

Other Water Systems

The other 20% of the City’s water comes from the Calleguas Municipal Water District (CMWD). CMWD water comes from the Sierra Nevada Mountains in northern California and is conveyed through the State Water Project’s network of reservoirs, aqueducts and pump stations. This “imported water” is filtered and brought to the PHWA by CMWD. The water is combined with water from the PHWA treatment plant.

The City of Port Hueneme also has local groundwater wells that are in “Stand-by” operation in the event of an emergency. These wells are designed to automatically start if the water pressure within the City falls below a certain level.