By: Neil Nisperos (neil.nisperos@langnews.com)

Saturday, June 13, 2015 - 1:03 p.m.

A recent $5 million federal grant to the local water wholesaler for San Bernardino County's West End will mean increased supply and more self-reliance, according to officials with the Inland Empire Utilities Agency.

The agency, based in Chino, received the grant from the federal Bureau of Reclamation's WaterSMART Title 16 Water Reclamation and Reuse program - the U.S. Interior Department's sustainable water initiative.

The local water wholesale agency, in partnership with the Chino Basin Desalter Authority, will use the grant to help fund the Phase 3 expansion of the Chino Desalter, which reclaims for public use groundwater made salty from years of agriculture.

The project is expected to provide an additional 10,600 acre-feet of water annually. One acre-foot of water typically serves the annual needs of two households.

The $140 million Phase 3 expansion project is expected to be completed by March.

Water produced by the Phase 3 expansion will serve three member agencies of the Chino Basin Desalter Authority that had agreed to fund the project: the Western Municipal Water District, the Jurupa Community Services District, and the city of Ontario.

The desalter agency also serves Chino, Chino Hills, Norco, and the Santa Ana River Water Co.

The IEUA, which had applied for the grant, serves as an ad hoc member of the desalter authority board and does not receive water product from it.

"It will be a great drought-proof supply for these agencies," said Curtis Paxton, general manager of the desalter authority.

The $5 million will be split between the three water agencies as reimbursement for the money already spent on the project.

"The grant is going to help us have a more reliable water supply, not just in the next two or three years but over the long term," said Joe Grindstaff, general manager of the Inland Empire Utilities Agency, which supplies drinking water to nine water agencies: Chino, Chino Hills, Cucamonga Valley Water District, Fontana, Fontana Water Co., Montclair, Monte Vista Water District, Ontario, and Upland.

"Our water supply will be much more secure, resilient and our water quality will be much better because of the project," Grindstaff said. "It's removing salt in the (regional groundwater) so overall water quality in the groundwater will improve and that improves everyone's drinking water quality over the long term."

The expansion will also result in more concentrated salt, which will be sold as calcium carbonate pellets, and will bring in additional revenue for the desalter authority, Paxton said.

Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Rancho Cucamonga, helped spearhead congressional support with a letter to commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation ,urging the bureau to "give the application full and fair consideration," according to IEUA officials.

"As California faces increasing challenges from this historic drought, we need to be more thoughtful about how we use and conserve our water," Aguilar said. "This project will help protect our region's groundwater supply and will reduce our reliance on imported water."

http://www.dailybulletin.com/environ...e-water-supply


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