Gobernadora Multipurpose Basin

Project Summary

The Cañada Gobernadora Multipurpose Basin project (“Gobernadora Basin”) is located within an unincorporated portion of southeastern Orange County, just south of the community of Coto de Caza. The proposed basin will capture and naturally treat urban runoff and storm flows, and use that water to help meet irrigation demands in the nearby community.

The Gobernadora Basin project will consist of a storm detention basin and a natural treatment system, a system to capture and divert flows to the wetlands, a pump station, and a pipeline to deliver flows to the Portola Reservoir, a recycled water reservoir located in Coto de Caza.

Located along the 8.5 mile Gobernadora Creek, a major tributary to San Juan Creek, the Gobernadora Basin will intercept a significant portion of the Gobernadora Creek flow for storm detention and treatment of urban runoff. This will reduce downstream erosion and sedimentation of the Gobernadora Creek and improve water quality. Approximately 350 to 750 acre feet of water is expected to be captured by the basin each year.

When operational, the Gobernadora Basin will accomplish several things:

• Reduce downstream erosion and sedimentation of Gobernadora Creek, a major tributary of San Juan Creek.
• Enhance local water supplies by capturing urban flows for outdoor irrigation use, decreasing the need for imported potable water.
• Improve the water quality in the Gobernadora Creek, which flows downstream to the Gobernadora Ecological Restoration Area(GERA).

Services Involved:

• Construction Management