The draft 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 project aimed at reducing dissolved minerals like salt and selenium in the Grassland Drainage Area.
Widren Water District, located in northwestern Fresno County west of the City of Firebaugh, has recently constructed a reverse osmosis (RO) treatment plant to extract and treat their in-district shallow groundwater. It has been shown in the region that the removal of shallow groundwater can assist in reducing drainage impacts by lowering poor-quality drain water below the crop root zone.
A draft Environmental Assessment and draft Finding of No Significant Impact for the land use authorization for the project and one-year exchange and/or Warren Act contract to Widren Water District were prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act.
