Water Year 2024 is shaping up to be a wet year. The Chino Basin has received an influx of rainfall throughout January and February, and gave us the chance to see the benefits of our water recharge planning efforts in action. As precipitation levels increased, our community witnessed a surge in surface water flow throughout the Basin, creating an opportunity for replenishing groundwater reserves.
• Safe Yield Recalculation
• Develop Water Quality Management Program
• Storage Management Plan Review
• Develop Storage & Recovery Master Plan
... we ensure the sustainability and reliability of our water supply for generations.
The network of spreading grounds and recharge facilities throughout the Chino Basin enables us to capitalize on the abundant water resources that are available in wet winters. These facilities serve as conduits, directing storm water into underground aquifers, where it is stored for future use. Through this process, the Chino Basin safeguards its water supply and reinforces resilience against climate variability and drought.
Maximizing the utilization of rainfall through recharge efforts is critical. Groundwater supports various sectors of our economy, including residential consumption, agriculture, and industry. By harnessing the abundance of rainfall when it is available, we ensure the sustainability and reliability of our water supply for generations.
Collaboration and innovation are at the forefront of water management in the Chino Basin. Coordinated efforts among stakeholders, including water agencies, the Chino Basin Water Conservation District, regulators, and community members, enable us to optimize recharge processes and the benefits derived from rainfall events. Techniques, such as stormwater capture and infiltration in large spreading basins, enhance capacity to capture and store water, contributing to long-term water supply health and resilience.
As we navigate water management in a climate of uncertainty, it is imperative to remain vigilant and proactive in conserving and replenishing water resources. Seizing the opportunity presented by rainfall, we reaffirm commitment to sustainable water practices and ensure a thriving future for the Chino Basin and its inhabitants. Let us embrace this season of opportunity for positive change, as we work to safeguard water security.
The OBMP, with its nine program elements, has been a collaborative effort over the past two decades. Today, we highlight some of the successes of Program Element 2 (PE 2), the Comprehensive Recharge Program, which as you’ll read is a testament to the values and benefits of the collaborative, long-term planning approach . The key planning tool utilized for PE 2 is the Recharge Master Plan (RMP), which identifies and prioritizes the investments in recharge improvements and projects.
PE 2 aims to increase stormwater recharge, ensure sufficient supplemental water recharge capacity, and maximize recycled and supplemental waters. The goal is to offset the loss of natural recharge due to channel lining and urbanization, replenish overdraft, and enhance Safe Yield.
PE 2 implementation actions include:
• Updating the RMP at least every five years
• Convening the Recharge Investigations and Projects Committee (RIPComm)
• Implementing recharge projects prioritized in the RMP based on need and resources.
DID YOU KNOW: There are 17 recharge basins across the Chino Basin.
Stakeholders and Committees
Watermaster, Inland Empire Utilities Agency, the Chino Basin Water Conservation District, and the San Bernardino County Flood Control District are partners in conducting recharge activities in the Chino Basin. They are jointly responsible for the implementation of the RMP. Two committees, RIPComm and the Groundwater Recharge Coordinating Committee (GRCC), are convened quarterly to implement the RMP. RIPComm meets to discuss the status of implementation of new recharge projects and is an avenue to present project ideas and new recharge opportunities. GRCC meets to discuss the ongoing operations and maintenance of existing recharge facilities in the Chino Basin.
DID YOU KNOW: The average stormwater recharge in recharge basins over the past ten years is 9,200 afy.
Since the implementation of the RMP began, there have been significant achievements:
• Modified seventeen existing flood control facilities and constructed two new facilities to increase diversion rates, conservation storage, and recharge.
• Constructed two new recharge facilities, increasing average annual stormwater recharge by about 9,500 acre-feet per year (afy).
• Completed the design of five recharge improvement projects to increase average annual stormwater recharge by an additional 4,700 afy. All five are expected to be completed and in operation by 2024.
• Created enough supplemental water recharge capacity is available to meet its Replenishment Obligations for overdraft through 2045.
The OBMP’s success is a testament to the power of collaboration and hard work.
As of mid-February 2024, recharge activities have been promising. Since the start of the fiscal year in July 2023:
• Stormwater recharge has totaled about 10,000 af, and is projected to continue to increase. More than half of this was in January and February 2024.
• Recycled water recharge is just under 10,000 af.
• Imported water recharge is over 30,000 af.
DID YOU KNOW: There are four active aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) wells that can recharge up to 5,480 afy of imported water.
Watermaster completed the 2023 RMP Update in October 2023. The RIPComm and GRCC continue to meet quarterly, with their last meeting held on February 27, 2024. Watermaster is developing a Work Plan to reconsider recharge projects that were previously economically infeasible and plan for future ones.
The OBMP’s success is a testament to the power of collaboration and hard work. The achievements of the past twenty years are a result of these efforts, and the future looks promising as we continue to strive for even better results.
PE 1 – Develop and Implement Comprehensive Monitoring Program. The objectives of the comprehensive monitoring program are to collect the data necessary to support the implementation of the other eight PEs and periodic updates to the State of the Basin Report.
PE 2 – Develop and Implement Comprehensive Recharge Program. The objectives of the comprehensive recharge program include increasing stormwater recharge to offset the recharge lost due to channel lining, to increase Safe Yield, and to ensure that there will be enough supplemental water recharge capacity available to Watermaster to meet its Replenishment Obligations.
PE 3 – Develop and Implement a Water Supply Plan for Impaired Areas. The objective of this program is to maintain and enhance Safe Yield with a groundwater desalting program that is designed to replace declining agricultural groundwater pumping in the southern part of the basin with new pumping to meet increasing municipal water demands in the same area, to minimize groundwater outflow to the Santa Ana River, and to increase Santa Ana River recharge into the basin.
PE 4 – Develop and Implement Comprehensive Groundwater Management Plan for Management Zone 1. The objectives of this land subsidence management program are to characterize the spatial and temporal occurrence of land subsidence, to identify its causes, and, where appropriate, to develop and implement a program to minimize or stop land subsidence.
PE 5 – Develop and Implement Regional Supplemental Water Program. The objective of this program is to improve the regional conveyance and availability of imported and recycled waters throughout the basin.
PE 6 – Develop and Implement Cooperative Programs with the Regional Board and Other Agencies to Improve Basin Management. The objectives of this water quality management program are to identify water quality trends in the basin and the impact of the OBMP implementation on them, to determine whether point and non-point contamination sources are being addressed by water quality regulators, and to collaborate with water-quality regulators to identify and facilitate the cleanup of soil and groundwater contamination.
PE 7 – Develop and Implement Salt Management Plan. The objectives of this salinity management program are to characterize current and future salt and nutrient conditions in the basin and to develop and implement a plan to manage them.
PE 8 – Develop and Implement Groundwater Storage Management Program. The objectives of this storage program are to implement and periodically update a storage management plan that prevents overdraft, protects water quality, and ensures equity among the Parties, and to periodically recalculate Safe Yield. This PE explicitly defined the storage management plan, including a “Safe Storage Capacity” for the managed storage of 500,000 acre-feet (af)–inclusive of Local and Supplemental Storage and Storage and Recovery Programs.
PE 9 – Develop and Implement Storage and Recovery Programs. The objectives of this conjunctive use program are to develop Storage and Recovery Programs that will provide broad mutual benefit to the Parties and ensure that Basin Water and storage capacity are put to maximum beneficial use while causing no Material Physical Injury (MPI).
Pursuant to the April 28, 2017 Safe Yield Court Order
Audience: Technical Peer Review Committee
General Stakeholders
COMPLETED COMPLETED COMPLETED
Aug. 30, 2023
9:00am
Review the structure of the 2020 CVM, discuss the updates made to the HCM based on information gathered since 2020 SYR, and gather feedback on changes.
• 2022 Safe Yield Reset Methodology TM
• Agenda
Present initial results on model calibration and recommended subset of calibration realizations. Gather feedback on recommendations.
Discuss the process to develop an ensemble of projection scenarios, gather input from the Parties on drivers of and uncertainties in future water demands and supply plans. Includes discussion of potential extreme scenarios for effort to evaluate of future extremes.
Scenario Design TM #1
• Presentation
Review the initial results of the model ensemble, discuss initial interpretations of the results, and gather feedback.
Review Scenario Design TM #3 and quantified projection scenarios.
Review Scenario Design TM #3 describing proposed water demand and supply plan scenarios, discuss recommendations on climate data, and gather feedback on proposed projection ensemble.
Review the draft 2025 SYR Report and gather feedback.
Summarize calibration workshop #1 and feedback gathered since then. Present updates and draft TM that will be published between calibration workshops #1 and #2.
Dates of future meetings subject to change.
“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”
Edgar Tellez Foster, PhD Acting General Manager etellezfoster@cbwm.org
Anna Truong Nelson, CAP, OM, TA Director of Administration atruongnelson@cbwm. org
Justin Nakano, MPA Water Resources Technical Manager jnakano@cbwm.org
Frank Yoo Data Services and Judgment Reporting Manager franky@cbwm.org
Alonso Jurado Water Resources Associate ajurado@cbwm.org
Alexandria Moore Executive Assistant IBoard Clerk amoore@cbwm.org
Ruby Favela Quintero Administrative Analyst rfavelaquintero@cbwm. org
Jordan Garcia Senior Field Operations Specialist jgarcia@cbwm.org
Erik Vides Field Operations Specialist evides@cbwm.org
Daniela Uriarte Senior Accountant duriarte@cbwm.org
The Watermaster in coordination with the WQC will be finalizing an Emerging Contaminants Monitoring Plan (ECMP) for the monitoring of contaminants of emerging regulatory concern (termed as “emerging contaminants”) to understand the distribution and concentration of emerging contaminants in the Chino Basin, which have the potential to impact basin operations and management. Sampling for the ECMP will commence in the first part of fiscal year 2024/25. The ECMP monitoring and analysis will support discussions on the potential implications of contaminant distribution and inform the future work of the the adaptive Water Quality Management Program (WQMP) implemented and lead by the WQC.
