Mesa Water District is building two new wells to increase local supply in Santa Ana, California, significantly.
Two potable water wells are under construction in Santa Ana and should be completed by next summer, according to officials, reported The Water Pilot. The project is funded by a $1.6-million grant from the state’s Department of Water Resources.
Two facilities located on Croddy Way and Chandler Avenue are anticipated to bring in up to 11 million gallons of fresh drinking water daily, in addition to the 5 billion gallons already generated by the district’s seven wells.
According to Mesa Water Board President Marice H. DePasquale, 100% of the district’s water is local. The two new wells will bring the total to nine, reported The Water Pilot.
“We don’t pay to transport water, we pump it out of the ground and deliver it straight to people’s faucets, it makes our carbon footprint considerably smaller,” said DePasquale during a tour of the Croddy Way facility, reported The Water Pilot. “Adding these two wells to our system allows us to stay 100% local, reliable and safe.”
According to Karyn Igar, a senior civil engineer for the district, an industrial lot site was purchased specifically because of its position to the local water source. District officials are also eyeing a second spot on the site where a well might continue to access the aquifer, reported The Water Pilot.
“This would be a 200-year decision,” said Igar. “We wanted to use the site in a way that would be an ideal site for now and also the next generation.”
An existing structure was demolished last year and a construction team began the underground infrastructure that would support the well. The disinfection facility is also to be built on the property.
Once the work is completed, a team will test the water quality, according to The Water Pilot. If the testing is successful, Mesa Water’s 110,000 customers in Costa Mesa, Newport Beach and unincorporated Orange County may be drinking the new water by June.
