The western municipal water district (western water), located in riverside county, california will design a new well for the western water s arlington desalter system

The Western Municipal Water District (WMWD) of Riverside County, California was awarded a $777,226 Project Grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation under the WaterSMART (Sustain and Manage America's Resources for Tomorrow) grant program (CFDA 15.507). The purpose of the grant is for WMWD to design a new well for their Arlington Desalter System, which will help stabilize groundwater levels and maximize water pumping to the desalter. This project aims to reduce reliance on imported water supplies and increase regional drought resilience, aligning with long-term goals outlined in WMWD's Drought Contingency Plan. The grant award period is from September 20, 2024 to August 31, 2027.

The 2020-2021 water year was the second driest year on record and january-march 2022 was the driest three-month period in california history. As a result, southern california experienced drastic water restrictions on imported supplies. Western water is designing a new well in the arlington groundwater basin to help improve water management through stabilization of groundwater levels and maximizing the amount of water pumped to its arlington desalter. Design of a new well will reduce the demand on imported water supplies from the BAY-area delta in northern california, while also increasing regional drought resiliency. The project addresses long term goals of increasing water reliability identified in western waters drought contingency plan, developed with assistance from a watersmart drought contingency planning grant.