ACWA Member Efforts Jun 1, 2017 Sustaining Groundwater Resources Here are some examples of sustainable groundwater management efforts by ACWA members: SGMA Efforts and GSA formation Under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 (SGMA), many ACWA member agencies are forming Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) and working with regional partners to develop Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSP). The California Department of Water Resources Groundwater Sustainability webpage provides additional information. Coachella Valley Water District’s Groundwater Replenishment Facility Coachella Valley Water District’s Thomas E. Levy Groundwater Replenishment Facility in the eastern Coachella Valley replenishes the aquifer with Colorado River water in order to minimize the potential harmful effects of aquifer overdraft. The 163-acre replenishment facility includes a large pump station, two storage reservoirs, transmission pipeline and 41 recharge basins. The aquifer is the sole source of drinking water for three cities with a combined population of more than 165,000 people, and thousands of residents living in unincorporated and rural areas. Preserving and protecting this precious water supply is crucial now and in the future, with the population of the region expected to double in the next 35 years. Buena Vista Water Storage District’s Northern Area Pipeline Project Buena Vista Water Storage District’s proposed Northern Area project is designed to improve overall district water use efficiency converting 9,845 acres of farmland currently served by an unlined canal to a pipeline to eliminate canal losses, and developing a year-round irrigation system, which would eliminate much groundwater pumping. The proposed project is estimated to achieve water savings of 4,737 acre-feet annually. Strand Ranch Integrated Water Banking Project As part of its Strand Ranch Integrated Water Banking Project, Irvine Ranch Water District partnered with Rosedale Rio Bravo Water Storage District and constructed 502 acres of groundwater recharge ponds on this property to allow available surface water to be percolated into the groundwater basin for later use. The goal of IRWD’s water banking program is to provide enough water to meet approximately 15% of IRWD customers’ needs during critically dry years. Under a 30-year water banking partnership with the Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District in Kern County, IRWD can store up to 50,000 acre-feet in the water bank and may recover up to approximately 17,500 acre-feet in any single year. Unlike other existing Kern County water banking arrangements, IRWD’s partnership with Rosedale provides long-term equity ownership of water banking capacity rather than the typical contract or lease arrangements employed by other agencies. Want to add your ACWA member agency’s project to this list? Please contact Emily Allshouse at (916) 441-4545.
