Water district fights intrusion
The Orange County Water District is shoring up its groundwater wells,
which supply Surf City with more than half of its drinking water,
against saltwater intrusion by leasing space in its groundwater basin
to the Metropolitan Water District.
Saltwater intrusion is a perpetual threat in Huntington Beach and
other coastal cities.
The 25-year agreement, signed June 25 by the water districts, will
allow Metropolitan to store nearly 20 billion gallons of water in
Orange County’s groundwater basin, hiking up the level of the basin
and providing the county with an additional source of water that can
be used during dry spells or in the case of emergency.
A good portion of the $12 million that Metropolitan will pay the
county water district will be used to fortify the seawater barrier
along the coast, a high-pressure system that keeps saltwater from
intruding into drinking water wells, said John Kennedy, assistant
general manager for the Orange County Water District.
“We will build more injection wells and expand the pipelines,
which will give us more capacity to inject more water in the future,”
Kennedy said. “We want to inject water as much as we can along the
coast.”
Groundwater extraction wells will also be provided to eight
participating agencies, Buena Park, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Orange,
Santa Ana, Southern California Water Company, Westminster and the
Yorba Linda Water District. These cities and local water districts
will be able to fall back on the stored water and pump it out if
they’re ever in need of a backup supply.
Surf City and other coastal Orange County cities were not invited
to be among the participating agencies. Coastline cities, Kennedy
said, are “more fragile and susceptible to problems” such as
saltwater contamination. Building wells along the coastline would
also be a costlier endeavor, since they would have to be coupled with
injection wells.
“This is one of the ways to improve California’s overall water
efficiency,” said Ron Wildermuth, communications director at the
Orange County Water District. “Every drop that we can store in water
basins when it’s surplus water is preventing water from going to the
ocean.”
Metropolitan could start putting water in as soon as August,
Kennedy said. Construction of the eight extraction wells will begin
in just over a year and will take three years to complete.
The Orange County Water District manages and protects the
groundwater basin under north and central Orange County, which
delivers water to 2.3 million residents in 21 cities in Orange
County.
Correa submits changes to river conservancy bill
The Santa Ana assemblyman proposing a bill that would establish a
wide-reaching nature conservancy to oversee the 96-mile Santa Ana
River has agreed to amend his proposal to enhance local control.
Assemblyman Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana), who floated the proposal as
Assembly Bill 496, is also readying his legislation for a Tuesday
hearing in the state Senate.
On Friday, Correa submitted 22 changes to the bill, which he
introduced in February.
The bill would establish a wild lands conservancy similar to the
Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, which can secure bond money to
purchase land to be set aside as open space, pay for habitat
restoration or improve flood control and drainage.
Correa amended his bill, after the Board of Supervisors,
Assemblyman John Campbell (R-Newport Beach) and others criticized it
for ceding too much control to Sacramento lawmakers. Assemblymen Tom
Harman and Ken Maddox (R-Costa Mesa) have endorsed the bill.
Among Correa’s changes are the creation of a local advisory panel
of experts who would report to the board. Correa also clarified
language that prevents the agency’s from levying taxes, regulating
land use or using eminent domain to seize land.
OCTA makes Surf City bus routes more user friendly
Huntington Beach bus routes are becoming easier to navigate,
thanks to a pilot program launched by the Orange County
Transportation Authority to make bus stop signs more readable.
Signs along Orange County’s four busiest bus routes have been
redesigned to include more detailed route maps and upgraded bus
schedules. More than 700 signs along the four routes were revamped by
the end of June. Signs on the remaining 76 county routes are expected
to be replaced by mid-2004.
OCTA was named the second fastest-growing bus system in the United
States by the American Public Transportation Assn., second only to
Phoenixs system. Nearly 64 million people rode OCTA buses in 2002.
Ward Street to close due to pipeline construction
A section of Ward Street stretching from the mobile home park to
Garfield Avenue will be closed for about 30 days staring in early
July, while the Orange County Water District constructs a pipeline
that will protect its groundwater wells from saltwater intrusion.
The 42-inch pipeline will send water from a treatment plant at the
water district’s Fountain Valley facility into new injection wells.
The water will increase the pressure of the existing seawater
barrier, which in turn, will keep saltwater from contaminating the
freshwater wells.
During construction, set to extend from early July to the end of
September, Ward Street will be closed from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday
through Friday, and from 9 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Special detour signs will be placed to guide drivers along alternate
routes.
Council on Aging volunteers spread cheer to seniors
Volunteers delivered special holiday meals and handmade gift
baskets to nearly 100 homebound seniors on Sunday.
Norm’s Restaurant provided a luncheon at cost of barbecued
chicken, coleslaw and mashed potatoes and gravy with a thematic white
cake topped with strawberries and blue sprinkles for dessert. The
National Charity League Pacific Coast Chapter handmade more than 100
red, white and blue gift bags to accompany each meal.
Council on Aging Senior Team volunteers delivered Fourth of July
meals clients on the Seniors’ Outreach caseload.
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