AVEK develops another water bank
PALMDALE — As the ongoing drought has shown, storing water during wet, rainy years is crucial to ensure supplies during the inevitable dry years.
To that end, the Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency is developing another water bank, in which surplus water imported from Northern California, through the State Water Project, is stored underground, to be retrieved as needed, through wells.
The High Desert Water Bank is on a 1,500-acre site on the Valley’s western side, roughly between 280th Street West and 300th Street West and between the California Aqueduct and Avenue A. Water to be stored in the bank will be collected from the adjacent aqueduct and the aqueduct can be used to distribute stored water that has been recovered.
Water to be stored will be spread in recharge basins and allowed to percolate to the aquifer bellow.
It will be capable of storing a total 280,000 acre-feet of water and can take in and produce 70,000 acre-feet annually, Paul Chau of consultants Kennedy Jenks said, on Wednesday, during a presentation before the Antelope Valley Watermaster Board of Directors.
An acre-foot of water is equal to 326,000 gallons and a family of four uses an average of 190,000 gallons of water, each year.
Once operational, up to 90% of the total water stored can be removed for use, with the remainder staying behind to support the aquifer.
AVEK, which will operate the water bank, is partnered with the Metropolitan Water District. MWD is providing capital funding and will be providing water to the bank, Chau said. AVEK will have second priority for storing water in the bank, behind MWD.
Construction has begun on about 632 acres of recharge basins, he said.
“We’re in the middle of a pretty heavy construction period here,” he said, with the first 200 acres of recharge basins expected to be completed, in May.
The entire recharge basin area is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024.
“Hopefully we’ll have a nice wet year coming up here to start recharge activities,” Chau said.
Construction on the system of wells to pull stored water from the bank is underway and is expected to be completed in December 2025, he said.
Construction is also underway on the turnout connection to the California Aqueduct.
The site will have environmental set-asides for wildlife and berms to convey heavy runoffs in case of storms.
Later this month, AVEK will submit a storage agreement for approval to the Watermaster, the body tasked with overseeing the 2015 court settlement that set limits on groundwater pumping for users across the Valley and monitoring the health of the underground aquifer.