ASCE OC K-12 Outreach: E-Week 2026 Future Friday - Orange County Water District Tour

This tour, held during Engineer's Week, brought high school students from the surrounding area to be able to see the Orange County Water District’s facility. Here, they got to learn about what OCWD does in filtering water from OC Sanitation to be ready for groundwater replenishment. After a brief introduction to the engineering behind the facility, OCWD gave a tour of the facility, explaining the different steps in the water purification process. In the end, we all went to drink the purified water together, celebrating the work OCWD does! Following lunch, there was a panel featuring an OCWD project manager and an operator, who provided additional perspectives on what it’s like to work in their industry and gave valuable advice to the students who are beginning to apply to colleges. The students are in a time where they are exploring different career opportunities, and they were able to expand their options to water system designer and operator. The ASCE K-12 committee was proud to have worked in tandem with Orange County United Way to make this event a success for all students!

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About the Author:

Brisa Bernal is a current Civil Engineering graduate student at California State University, Fullerton. She works at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, in a geotechnical engineering group. Brisa is passionate about sustainability and empowering the next generation to pursue engineering. In her free time, she can be found traveling or running. Brisa can be reached at birsarosabernal@gmail.com.