Our mission of protecting public health and the environment goes beyond our wastewater treatment operation, it extends to every aspect of our work. As we began to develop the plan to construct a new headquarters building that would allow our approximately 300 staff members at the Fountain Valley Plant to sit in one place, we had several components in mind that had to be included.

The result was a 109,000-square foot building design that is resilient, sustainable, environmentally friendly and inviting to the community. The modern design incorporates and features mass timber throughout. The new headquarters building is planned to be constructed across the street from our current Administration Building in Fountain Valley.

The California Mass Timber Competition is one of the first-ever competitions designed to highlight a category of engineered wood products known as mass timber. As the need for forest, wildfire, climate and housing solutions grows, California is moving to expand use of these innovative wood products, which have the potential to sequester carbon and drive healthy forest management in California.

As an environmental steward, OCSD used the new headquarters building as an opportunity to incorporate engineered wood into its design. The material is strong, fire resistant, aesthetically pleasing, efficient, reduces carbon footprint, and works alongside other materials as a structural element, all of these elements made it the right choice.

See below the virtual design image of the new OCSD headquarters building that was selected by the California Mass Timber Competition.