Integrated Murrieta-Temecula Groundwater Basin & Stream Flow Models

Customer Profile

The Rancho California Water District (RCWD) in Riverside County overlies a 90 square-mile groundwater basin and serves more than 150,000 people.

Challenge

The Murrieta-Temecula groundwater basin consists of saturated alluvial deposits that are accessed through a system of 100 deep wells. In recent years, the demands of a growing population have outstripped the natural capacity of the basin to the point that it supplied approximately half of the water required for their service area.

The District proposed to address the deficit through artificial recharge by creating 100 acres of recharge ponds to be serviced with untreated water from Vail Lake and wholesale providers. However, before they could get permits and start work, they needed a safe yield study to determine the natural recharge rate of the basin and water audits to project how many acre feet per year the system could process via artificial recharge.

Geoscience Solution

The RCWD turned to Geoscience, who has served as District Hydrologist since 1988 and oversees the RCWD Groundwater Management Program. The Geoscience team referred to their annual water audits used to project groundwater production requirements and also created an integrated groundwater and streamflow model of the Murrieta-Temecula groundwater basin.

Geoscience assisted with identifying the preferred sites for the recharge ponds and assisted in supervising the construction of two-dozen large-scale production wells. In addition, Geoscience set up subsidence monitoring and performed troubleshooting for well issues.

Customer Results

With the help of Geoscience, the RCWD was able to augment their recharge operations to deliver sustainable, maximized yield.

Contact Johnson Yeh or Chris Coppinger to learn more about this case study.

We are a team of degreed geologists and engineers developing the best solutions for sustainable groundwater. Contact us for reliable results.

Discover more case studies

Pismo Beach Regional Groundwater Sustainability Project

Client Profile The City of Pismo Beach is a member of the Northern Cities Management Area (NCMA) of the

South Orange Coastal Ocean Desalination Project

Client Profile South Coast Water District (SCWD) provides potable water, recycled water, and wastewater services to 35,000 residents, 1,000

Pure Water Oceanside

Challenge For decades, the City of Oceanside relied on imported water for more than 85% of its supply to

Pismo Beach Regional Groundwater Sustainability Project

Client Profile The City of Pismo Beach is a member of the Northern Cities Management Area (NCMA) of the Santa Maria Groundwater Basin in San Luis Obispo County, California. There are three major sources of water that supply the NCMA—Lopez Lake (surface water), the State Water Project Coastal Branch (imported water), and groundwater pumping. Each […]

South Orange Coastal Ocean Desalination Project

Client Profile South Coast Water District (SCWD) provides potable water, recycled water, and wastewater services to 35,000 residents, 1,000 businesses, and 2 million visitors per year in South Orange County, California. Challenge Brackish water occurs in a natural environment that produces a salinity level registering between freshwater and seawater. It occurs in coastal regions where […]

Pure Water Oceanside

Challenge For decades, the City of Oceanside relied on imported water for more than 85% of its supply to its customers, with less than 15% coming from local supplies in the Mission Ground Water Basin and a 0.7-mgd Recycled Water Facility. Since the turn of the century, the City has been seeking ways to reduce […]