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In 1928 when OPA was founded new residents needed water and the Orange Park Acres Mutual Water Company was formed. The water company was owned by the land owners who purchased stock shares when they purchased land. It was pretty exciting to have a water company owned by the residents. That excitment lasted for many generations until infrastruture upgrades became a major problem.

In 2006 the Orange Park Acres Mutual Water Company was at a crossroads. The small Water Company had serviced 550 customers in Orange Park Acres but had not invested in the needed capital improvements. Faced with tremendous capital outlay for deferred maintenance of its deteriorating infrastructure, environmental regulations and fluctuating water prices the Board of Directors started to explore options. It was decided that the best strategy was to offer our Water Company via a Request for Proposal.

Proposals were sent out to all water companies that serve the area; City of Orange, Serrano Water Dist. (Villa Park), East Orange Water Dist., Golden State, and Irvine Ranch Water Dist. The process followed an outlined course with many interviews with each of the interested water companies. Irvine Ranch Water District was the preferred choice of the ratepayers.

IRWD has done an outstanding job of bringing the OPA water system up to current standards and upgrading the aging system as quickly as possible.

Feb. 2008 Letter from OPA Mutual Water Company to its Customers (17 KB - PDF)
OPA Mutual Water Company has decided to merge with the Irvine Ranch Water District to provide competitive rates and have the ability to upgrade the water system infrastructure.

Sept. 24, 2007 - The OPA Mutual Water Company and Irvine Ranch Water District Acquisition and Annexation Agreement (3.1 MB - PDF)

Irvine Ranch Water District (IRWD)
Learn more about the IRWD, its history, water reduction strategies and more.

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