Raising the Water Table
OCWD staff recently released the draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Mid-Basin Injection (MBI) well project in Centennial Park in Santa Ana for public comment. The project includes construction of four injection wells, one monitoring well, supply and backflush pipelines, and two shared recreation/community structures. The MBI project helps to recharge Orange County’s groundwater basin in an area of the basin that has low water levels due to concentrated pumping.
The MBI program will raise the water table levels surrounding Centennial Park by directly injecting GWRS water into the principal aquifer. As an additional water conservation measure, the city of Santa Ana and OCWD have collaborated to repurpose the back-flush water from the injection wells to be replenishment water for Centennial Park’s lakes. OCWD will be constructing two shared structures that will provide new restrooms, office space, and changing rooms for the city’s recreational use and a utility room to house OCWD equipment. OCWD will also make improvements to the skate park security and park pavement.
During the environmental planning process, staff has engaged local community groups, presenting the project and discussing environmental issues. The public comment period on the EIR extends to March 18. The Draft EIR and Technical Appendices are available for review at the Orange County Water District website. Please direct any comments questions about the Draft EIR to Daniel Bott at (714) 378-3256 or dbott@ocwd.com.