COSTA MESA

The Mesa Consolidated Water District board unanimously approved a $16.5-million budget last week for fiscal year 1999-2000. An estimated $5.27 million will go to expenses related to the total water supply, which includes the well production of clear and colored water.

“Mesa is the only place in Orange County where colored water is used,” said spokeswoman Lynnette Round. “So we needed money for the building and design of a colored water treatment facility.”

Round said colored water, which is higher quality than clear water, is found at about 1,000 feet below the ground basin. In the 1998-99 budget, which totaled $15.80 million, operating expenses for the total water supply were about $5 million. The board has projected financial obligations--or nonoperating expenses--to be $1.81 million, down from last year’s total of $1.89 million.