AWWA ACE71067

The El Monte Valley Groundwater Recharge Project (Project) marks one of the first projects in California to explore utilizing highly purified recycled water to recharge a groundwater basin to provide better managed groundwater levels for habitat restoration, and ultimately utilize the water to augment the local water supply. The Helix Water District (Helix) is exploring the use of highly treated, purified water to recharge the existing El Monte Valley Groundwater Basin (Basin), better manage the groundwater levels to support habitat restoration, and extract groundwater to enhance their water supply portfolio. The project has numerous benefits to the local community including creating a recreational area, restoring the riparian habitat, improving the water quality in the Basin, and expanding the regional water portfolio within Southern California by providing a new and renewable water supply. This paper presents the key details of regulations, pilot studies, and subsequent groundwater modeling efforts that Helix has conducted to evaluate the full-scale implementation of spreading basins and extraction wells. Includes 6 references, tables, figures.