The Onondaga County Water Authority is a public benefit corporation created in 1951 (and began operating in 1955) in accordance with the Public Authorities Law of the State of New York. The Authority was created to finance, construct, operate and maintain a water supply and distribution system for the benefit of the residents in and around Onondaga County. Currently, OCWA is one of the 125 largest publicly owned water suppliers in the United States.
The Distribution System Map shows the typical service area for each of the three water sources. Wholesale and retail areas within the county are both included. In retail areas the Authority supplies the water, maintains the distribution system and bills the customer directly. In wholesale areas, a municipality or water district buys some or all of its water from the Authority. Wholesale systems maintain their own distribution and customer billing systems. Some key facts about our operation can be found in the OCWA Statistics Table found below:
OCWA statistics for 2010
Daily average system delivery
37.29 Million Gallons per Day
Maximum day system delivery
48.32 Million Gallons per Day
Average daily unmetered water use
5.24 Million Gallons per Day
Total annual delivered by OCWA
13.61 Billion Gallons
Total water treated by OCWA
6.12 Billion Gallons
Total annual purchased water from MWB
7.01 Billion Gallons
Total annual purchased water from Syracuse
0.48 Billion Gallons
Figures as of December 31, 2010
Average cost for residential & commercial consumers
Water sources & treatment processes of OCWA & its wholesale providers (Metropolitan Water Board & City of Syracuse).