Ophir Water Treatment Plant

Ophir is a new PCWA drinking water treatment facility being built along Ophir Road in Ophir, near Auburn, California. Its first phase will add 10 million gallons per day (MGD) of treated-water capacity to PCWA's western water system. The site is master planned to expand to 30 MGD as future demand requires.

Western Placer County continues to grow. Ophir adds the infrastructure needed to treat water and deliver it reliably and support the growing communities that will depend on it. It also creates another major treatment location that will become part of a larger network, improving redundancy and operating flexibility.

No. PCWA has the water supply to serve planned growth. Ophir addresses treatment and delivery capacity—making sure the infrastructure is in place to treat and deliver that water as demand grows.

Adding treatment capacity before it is needed helps preserve reliable service for existing customers as new homes and businesses connect. Ophir will also give operators more flexibility when existing facilities require maintenance or experience an outage.

No. Ophir will work alongside PCWA's existing Foothill and Sunset water treatment plants, adding capacity and strengthening the overall system.

The first phase is designed for 10 MGD of treatment capacity, enough to support approximately 10,000 homes. The plant site is master planned for expansion to 30 MGD as future needs grow.

The first phase of the treatment plant will provide 10 MGD. The plant site is master planned so treatment capacity can be expanded to 30 MGD in future phases. Associated underground pipelines are being sized to carry up to 60 MGD, preserving long-term flexibility without requiring those buried pipelines to be replaced if needs change decades from now.

PCWA can expand Ophir in phases. Building the capacity that is needed now, while designing the site for future expansion, avoids paying to construct and operate the full future capacity before it is needed.

Construction begins in September 2026, and PCWA anticipates the first phase of the plant will be operational in 2030.

Ophir will become part of PCWA's interconnected western water system, which serves communities from the foothills to western Placer County. PCWA also provides wholesale treated water to the City of Lincoln, which has invested in future treatment capacity at Ophir.

The additional water capacity needed to serve new development is funded through Water Connection Charges—one-time charges paid when new or expanded development connects to PCWA's treated water system. The City of Lincoln has also invested in treatment capacity at Ophir to support its future water needs.

This funding structure helps ensure that the cost of infrastructure needed for growth is paid by new development rather than through existing customers' monthly water rates.

Construction will include periods of truck traffic, heavy equipment, noise, dust, and other typical site activity. PCWA will keep current construction information and milestones on this webpage as work progresses.

The project is being built to add treatment capacity. If any construction activity is expected to affect customer water service, PCWA will provide advance notification to affected customers.

PCWA will keep the Construction Activity section of this page current and will use direct outreach, email, and other communication tools when activities may have a more significant effect on nearby residents or travelers.