FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., Jan. 9, 2003 -- In early January 2003, the Orange County Water District (OCWD) will begin refilling the Santiago Pits recharge system to resume percolation operations after a submersible pump station was installed at the bottom of Bond Pit, the largest of the three-basin system.
The pump station was installed to increase the amount of water the Santiago Pits recharge system is able to percolate underground into deep aquifers.
"This project is significant because it increases the District's ability to put water in the groundwater basin in order to continue to meet the growing groundwater demands in Orange County," said Denis Bilodeau, president of the OCWD Board of Directors. "The new pump station will help increase the amount of water that can be stored in the groundwater basin each year by 18,400 acre-feet of water (6 billion gallons), or enough for about 37,000 families each year."
The refilling of the recharge basins signals the completion of the work at the bottom of Bond Pit. This project was completed on time and within the projected budget. Work at the top of the Pit will continue in January and is expected to be completed in February.
Installing the pump station will save about $5 million per year in avoided imported water purchases. The project will pay for itself in about two and one-half years.
The pump station will allow water in Bond Pit to be fed into other basins and Santiago Creek to increase the amount of water being percolated underground.
The Orange County Water District is a special water agency created by the California Legislature in 1933 to maintain and manage the huge groundwater basin under northern Orange County. The groundwater basin managed by OCWD supplies 75% of the water needs to more than 2 million residents in the cities of Anaheim, Buena Park, Cypress, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Irvine, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Newport Beach, Orange, Placentia, Santa Ana, Seal Beach, Stanton, Tustin, Villa Park, Westminster and Yorba Linda. To learn more about water visit www.ocwd.com.
