The recipient, in collaboration with local water agencies in the SAN bernardino county area, is initiating a new title XVI bunker hill basin regional recycled water salinity management feasibility…

The recipient, in collaboration with local water agencies in the SAN bernardino county area, is initiating a new title XVI bunker hill basin regional recycled water salinity management feasibility study. This initiative aims to facilitate the permitting of three recycled water projects and evaluate feasible salinity management strategies in the bunker hill basin in the near- and long-term. This feasibility study will enable valley district and its regional project partners, including east valley water district (evwd), the city of redlands, and the city of SAN bernardino municipal water department (sbmwd), collectively referred to as the bunker hill basin regional recycled water coalition (coalition) to capture recycled water from regional wastewater flows. The water will be treated at a new water recycling facility and then recharged into the bunker hill-b groundwater management zone (GMZ) of the bunker hill subbasin, which is part of the larger SAN bernardino basin area (sbba basin no. 8-002.06). This initiative is poised to significantly enhance the local water supply reliability for a region that is heavily reliant on imported water. Evwds snrc, sbmwds tertiary treatment system (TTS), and the city of redlands wastewater reclamation facility phase 2 expansion are all near-term recycled water projects that are currently seeking discharge permits for the beneficial use of recycled water. The recipient will develop a new water recycling feasibility study to support a multi-agency indirect potable reuse project for treating recycled water to produce up to 25,000 acre-feet per year of new, local, drought-resilient supplies. The study area relies heavily on imported surface water supplies which are limited and overallocated, resulting in curtailed deliveries. The reductions in water availability over recent years highlights the need for improved drought resilience and local water supply reliability. A coalition of water management agencies in the area will collaborate to develop the study for the potential project, which will capture recycled water from regional wastewater flows and purify IT at a new water recycling facility for groundwater recharge in the SAN bernardino groundwater basin for later beneficial use. The tasks for this agreement are kickoff and data collection, alternative salt mitigation strategies, draft feasibility study, final feasibility study, study progress management, coalition governance, outreach and engagement, QA review of study, and cost share strategy.