FRESNO, Calif. - The Bureau of Reclamation has released final environmental documents for a pilot project for Widren Water District that would allow the district to convey up to 1,000 acre-feet of reverse osmosis treated groundwater through the Delta-Mendota Canal and potentially store it in San Luis Reservoir. The pilot project is part of a larger effort aimed at reducing dissolved minerals like salt and selenium in a 97,000 acre area known as the Grassland Drainage Area.
Widren Water District, located in northwestern Fresno County west of Firebaugh, has recently constructed a reverse osmosis treatment plant to extract and treat its in-district shallow groundwater. It has been shown in the region that removal of shallow groundwater can assist in reducing drainage impacts by lowering poor-quality drain water below the crop root zone.
A final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact were prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act, and are available at href="https://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_project_details.php?Project_ID=30446"
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https://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_project_details.php?Project_ID=30446.
For additional information or to request a copy of the documents, please contact Jennifer Lewis at 559-487-5197 (TTY 800-877-8339) or jllewis@usbr.gov.
Source: Bureau of Reclamation
