Three new groundwater wells are giving the city of Antelope more reliable access to drinking water and the flexibility to meet water needs in wet and dry years. The Sacramento Suburban Water District formally commissioned the three wells, known as “the triplets” on Monday. The three wells plus a fourth recently brought online can serve up to 33,500 homes in the Antelope area daily. This project is part of a decades-long larger effort to balance the Sacramento region’s use of groundwater and surface water. During dry years, the use of groundwater wells reduces the demand on surface water sources like Folsom Lake and the Lower American River.One of the three new wells has the ability to recharge groundwater storage through its “Aquifer Storage and Recover” (ASR) technology. In water years with higher than normal rain and snow, ASR wells can pull excess surface water and store it underground, rebuilding that vital groundwater storage for the next dry year.The new wells replace three previously existing ones that were reaching the end of their lifespan. An $18 million grant from the California Department of Water Resources along with support from SSWD ratepayers funded the project.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
Three new groundwater wells are giving the city of Antelope more reliable access to drinking water and the flexibility to meet water needs in wet and dry years.
The Sacramento Suburban Water District formally commissioned the three wells, known as “the triplets” on Monday. The three wells plus a fourth recently brought online can serve up to 33,500 homes in the Antelope area daily.
This project is part of a decades-long larger effort to balance the Sacramento region’s use of groundwater and surface water. During dry years, the use of groundwater wells reduces the demand on surface water sources like Folsom Lake and the Lower American River.
One of the three new wells has the ability to recharge groundwater storage through its “Aquifer Storage and Recover” (ASR) technology. In water years with higher than normal rain and snow, ASR wells can pull excess surface water and store it underground, rebuilding that vital groundwater storage for the next dry year.
The new wells replace three previously existing ones that were reaching the end of their lifespan. An $18 million grant from the California Department of Water Resources along with support from SSWD ratepayers funded the project.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel