• Originally constructed in 1933, Irvine Lake, which is formed by the Santiago Creek Dam, serves as a vital part of Orange County water infrastructure.

• While Irvine Lake provides recreational benefits to the county, the primary purpose of the lake is to store water for the benefit of surrounding communities in Central and South Orange County.

• Irvine Lake/Santiago Creek Dam is jointly owned by Irvine Ranch Water District (75%) and Serrano Water District (25%).

• Today, the lake remains an important source of water for IRWD’s Baker Water Treatment Plant and SWD’s Walter Howler Filtration Plan, which collectively provide water to 85,000 homes throughout Central and Southern Orange County.

• Preserving and restoring local water supplies – The project will result in a significant amount of local water as a result of increased storage capacity, which will allow for more native water capture as opposed to buying expensive untreated water.

• Increased water resiliency – The improvements at Irvine Lake will result in the additional storage capacity of 3,700-acre feet of water and ongoing opportunity for increased storage capacity in the future. This will result in enhanced water resiliency, allowing agencies to be less dependent on imported water.

• Increased safety and reliability – The dam safety improvementsts, beyond the guidelines required by DSOD, will result in increased reliability into the future.

• Improved efficiency and seismic performance – The new outlet tower will better control flow out of the reservoir and be designed for optimum seismic performance.

• Promotes the well-being and security for the communities we serve – More than 1.5 million residents live in areas impacted, directly and indirectly, by the Santiago Creek Dam, and will benefit from the enhanced safety and seismic measures being implemented in the project. The project’s modern safety measures will protect residences, businesses, essential services, and critical fire/life safety infrastructure.