Orange County Water District (OCWD) is formed in 1933 by the California legislature to manage the groundwater basin and protect OCWD’s rights to flows in the Santa Ana River. It is governed by a 10-member Board of Director. Basin provides groundwater to 19 municipal and special water districts that serve 2.5 million customers in north and central Orange Count, and currently supplies 77% of the water supply for north and central Orange County. On November 13, 2019, at the American Water Summit in Houston, Michael Markus, Managing Director of Orange County Water District, accepted the prestigious invitation for membership into the Leading Utilities of the World network and received a 'Golden Tap' award for utility performance, representing the achievement of the highest level of utility service.