Pico Rivera Planning Commission Gives Greenlight To WRD Project

Advanced water treatment project will create a locally sustainable water supply for millions

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Water Replenishment District of Southern California

Jul 19, 2016, 10:17 ET

PICO RIVERA, Calif., July 19, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Water Replenishment District of Southern California (WRD) Monday obtained approvals from Pico Rivera city officials to move forward with its plans to build a state-of-the-art, advanced water recycling facility on a 5.2-acre parcel in the northeast part of the city adjacent to the San Gabriel River channel.

Pico Rivera Planning Commission Gives Greenlight To WRD Project

The Pico Rivera Planning Commission, led by its chairman, Ruben Garcia, voted 5-0 to award a conditional use permit (CUP) for the Groundwater Reliability Improvement Project (GRIP) that outlined a variety of steps the water agency must take to ensure its project – both during and after construction – minimizes impacts to neighbors.

"Last evening's unanimous decision by the Pico Rivera Planning Commission marks a historic moment for WRD and our goal to eliminate our reliance on imported water from Northern California and the Colorado River," stated WRD Director Albert Robles, who represents the division in which the project will be built. "After nearly a decade of planning, the Groundwater Reliability Improvement Project is approved for construction, marking a major leap forward toward complete and permanent local sustainability of the groundwater basins that provide half the water supply to over four million people."

Construction of the $110 million, 25,000 square foot plant is expected to begin later this year. The GRIP facility will be built on property at 4320 San Gabriel River Parkway, the former site of a trash-hauling business. The new facility will not only produce enough water to offset the current demand for imported water used for groundwater replenishment, but it will also include a water education space and drought-tolerant demonstration gardens where members of the public can learn about the benefits of recycled water and ways to increase water conservation.

WRD manages the groundwater for the Central and West Coast Basins, which supplies roughly 50% of the water demand for a 420 square mile region which includes 43 cities in southern Los Angeles County.

GRIP – an advanced water treatment facility (AWTF) – will purify millions of gallons of recycled and treated wastewater obtained daily from the nearby San Jose Creek Water Reclamation Plant. After treatment, WRD will deliver the water to groundwater percolation basins in Pico Rivera and enter the aquifer system.

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SOURCE Water Replenishment District of Southern California