By Dominick Casey, Roseville City Manager
Our water managers have been investing in groundwater infrastructure for the past two decades, and with consistent investments, we’re now seeing the fruits of our labor.
During the recent severe weather conditions, we replenished the groundwater basin and stored surface water for future use, thanks to our Aquifer Storage and Recovery investments. In just the first week of March, we banked 44 million gallons of water and doubled that amount this week. With 88 million gallons of banked water, it can supply about 732 homes annually.
We’ve been saving water like this for a while now. In fact, this past January, we saved enough water to supply 1,000 homes annually. And a year ago, we had surplus surface water and stored a significant amount, equivalent to 160 Olympic-sized pools. Last year, we used this saved water as drinking water, reducing our dependence on Folsom Reservoir and leaving more water for the environment.
This strategy has been working well for us, giving us a reliable water supply in any weather and reducing our reliance on Folsom Reservoir – a deliberate action to diversify where we get our water resources to ensure a thriving Roseville.
Roseville’s water supply plan is part of a larger regional strategy to adjust to climate change by storing excess surface water underground for later use. Our groundwater program will integrate into the Sacramento Regional Water Bank, a network of subterranean reservoirs that we can use to preserve or extract water based on supply conditions. The underground aquifers underneath the Sacramento area can store twice as much water as the Folsom Reservoir.
By replenishing the groundwater basin with water from Folsom Reservoir, we can reap several benefits, such as capturing water that would otherwise go to waste, storing it as a backup for dry spells, and complying with state regulations by keeping the aquifer healthy.
Our investments in diversifying Roseville’s water portfolio are paying off, but we’re not entirely done yet. We’re doubling down on our initial groundwater program investment in the number of wells from 5 to 12 once we are finally finished. We’ll bring two new wells online in the upcoming months, and will start construction on two more this summer.
These investments will improve Roseville’s groundwater program, allow more groundwater banking, and help us create a reliable water supply for our customers and the surrounding region.
It’s exciting to see cities like Roseville taking a proactive and innovative approach to water resource management. We’re proud to lead the way in sustainable water management and look forward to developing more innovations to ensure we always have a reliable water supply, no matter the weather.
