Water District Considers Environmental Studies for Groundwater Recovery Expansion
Jonathan Volzke and Andrea Swayne
Dana Point Times
12/01/2011
South Coast Water District plans three new wells to increase the capacity of its groundwater recovery plant, which pulls water from the San Juan Basin, removes minerals and puts it in the city’s drinking water system.
The groundwater plant, on the district’s 30 acres between Stonehill Drive and Pacific Coast Highway, now pulls 912 acre feet of brackish water per year for customers in Dana Point and parts of other nearby cities. Officials want to ultimately increase that to 3,194 acre feet annually.
Four potential well sites are studied in environmental documents, three on the west side of San Juan Creek and one on the district’s 30 acres. One of the well sites is in Creekside Park. One well would be built immediately, as back-up for the plant’s lone well, then ultimately the other two for expansion. Pipelines would be connect the well system. The district has already allocated $98,500 for well design and $337,888 for wellhead and pipeline design.
“The project is necessary to provide the district with a local reliable water supply. We like other water agencies are diversifying our portfolio by developing local water sources in an effort to decrease our dependence on imported water,” said Linda Homscheid, SCWD communications officer. “By diversifying our source of supply not only do we ensure adequate water supply for our communities now and in the future but we are also providing insurance by preparing for earthquakes and other natural disasters that could potentially disrupt the delivery of water to our area.”
