Funds Transfer from West Orange County Water Board to Huntington BeachCity CouncilAugust 18, 2026
WOCWB Overview
Over the last 70 years, the West Orange County Water Board has supported water transportation for member agencies via a Joint Powers Agreement West Orange County Water Board (WOCWB) is a Joint Powers Agency originally established in 1955 with the mission of transporting water to its member agencies via two large-capacity pipelines Member agency cities are Huntington Beach, Seal Beach, Westminster, and Garden Grove as of the revised Joint Power Agreement drafted in 1967 Water is delivered from the Municipal Water District of Orange County through the OC-9 and OC-35 connections at Katella Avenue and Dale Street in Stanton WOCWB has no employees but contracts several functions on a time/materials basis WOCWB General Manager formulates budget to conduct administrative affairs and issue purchase/work orders Ownership/capacity rights across member agencies as follows: 56.1% for Huntington Beach, 25.4% for Westminster, 14.3% for Seal Beach, and 4.2% for Garden Grove (WOCWB Board has five seats with Huntington Beach having two seats and other member agencies having one seat each) All major WOCWB decisions regarding changes to funding payments in/out of the WOCWB must be approved by each City Council from a governance perspective
Current Situation
WOCWB has the opportunity to revert over $4 million back to its member agencies’ Enterprise Funds (specifically Water Fund) due to prior payments that are no longer necessary for capital improvements In 2020, Engineering staff presented a $8 million proposal to the WOCWB Board implementing a Cathodic Protection Program on the transmission mains to extend their 60+ year lifespans rather than replace them Board approved plan to contribute $1 million per year beginning in Fiscal Year 2020/21 (prorated by each agency’s ownership percentage of the Board) and a total of $6 million was collected In Fiscal Year 2023/24, the Board’s engineering consultant began a study and determined that Cathodic Protection was not feasible for OC-9 or OC-35 due to segments being too narrow A subsequent engineering feasibility study in 2024-2025 listed repairs totaling $620,000 to areas of high concern and the Board repurposed $1 million to cover these repairs and contingencies These collections have left WOCWB with an approximately $7.6 million fund balance versus a conservative estimate of $2 million required to cover necessary future capital expenditures – we are proposing to revert $4.6 million to member agencies and leave approximately $3 million in WOCWB (highest fund balance prior to Cathodic Program was $1.6 million) Based on our 56% share, this would result in approximately $2.6 million being returned to our Water Master Plan Fund for other capital projects and investments by the City Treasurer that will yield higher financial returns
Recommendation
Approve and authorize the WOCWB Board members for Huntington Beach to vote in favor of the return of $4.6 million in excess funds to the member agencies at the October 21, 2026 WOCWB meeting
Questions?