WSP09733 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

. c OS4J In southern California, artificial ground-water recharge is being practiced as an integral part of the current water conservation project. For instance, 40 water spreading and injection wells associated with the Montebello Forebay, in Orange County, recharged 520,000 acre-feet during a I-year period, 1961-1962 (Schiff, 1959). In the San Joaquin Valley, California, using the application of excessive irrigation water, 63,500 acre-feet was recharged in a I-year period (Davis,et al.,1964). Artificial recharge has also been of interest in Colorado as a water conservation method. Olds Reservoir, in Prospect Valley near Hudson, Colorado, was the subject of a recharge demonstration from 1939 to 1960 (Skinner, 1963). During the winter months, water was diverted into the . reservoir from existing laterals. The recharge from this 450 acre-foot capacity reservoir resulted in direct seepage into an alluvial aquifer. During the 20-year period, from 1939-1959, 30,000 acre-feet of water was charged into the system, and in the winter of 1959-60, an additional 12,000 acre-feet of water was charged. This demonstration project was considered successful in that it raised water tables in observation wells up to 1-1/2 miles away. The water tables rose 7 feet in wells within 1/2-mile of the reservoir and 2 feet in the observation wells 1-1/2 miles away. A recent artificial recharge demonstration was conducted in the ~ o Merino, Colorado area (Longenbaugh, 1975). The purpose of this project was to explore the feasibility of artificially recharging the aquifer . using surplus streamflows. The test was conducted using the Sand Hill lateral. A 4.7-mile stretch of this lateral was rehabilitated for the