Bayside Groundwater Project
The Bayside Groundwater Project provides a modest, locally available supplemental water supply that helps reduce the need for rationing in the event of a prolonged drought. It is designed to store treated drinking water in a deep underground aquifer during wet years for future recovery, re-treatment and distribution to customers during times of drought.
Planning for the development of Phase 1 of the Bayside Groundwater Project water treatment plant and associated monitoring systems began in early 2001 and has continued through present day.
The Project’s Environmental Impact Report and project approval were granted by the EBMUD Board of Directors in November 2005. The Phase 1 project will be ready for final testing in September 2009, and will be in service shortly thereafter. Phase 1 will store an annual average of 1 million gallons a day (MGD) of water within a deep aquifer that extends beneath the City of San Lorenzo. As noted above, storage operations will take place when water can be made available (during wet years). A volume equal to the total stored would be supplied to customers during dry years (at a delivery rate that does not exceed 1 MGD on a yearly average), helping reduce the need for rationing.
After successfully operating Phase 1 for some time, EBMUD will consider a larger Phase 2 Bayside project that would have a capacity of between 2 and 10 MGD, allowing for even greater drought protection. Before a larger project would be undertaken, EBMUD will review the results of readings collected via the groundwater monitoring system and a precision instrument called an ‘Extensometer’, which has been installed to measure minute changes (if any) in ground surface elevation (subsidence) during Phase 1 operation. Also as part of Phase 2 planning, EBMUD would complete an environmental impact report, and conduct the associated public review.
The Bayside Groundwater Project is but one of several projects EBMUD is either currently constructing or considering as part of future planning, to bring greater water supply reliability to the District’s ratepayers during times of drought and in the event of water supply shortage emergencies.
For more information on this project, please contact the Water Supply Improvements Division at (510) 287-1303.