PALMDALE – Local, county and state officials gathered Thursday to celebrate the groundbreaking of the Amargosa Creek Recharge project.
The project — a collaborative effort between the City of Palmdale, Palmdale Water District, Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency and the Los Angeles County Water Districts — will bring water from the California Aqueduct to a series of recharge ponds where it will percolate into the aquifer beneath the ground.
Speakers at the groundbreaking ceremony included Palmdale City Manager James Purtee, Mayor Elect Steve Hofbauer, Councilmember Austin Bishop, Gabino Vazquez from the California Department of Water Resources, Adam Ariki from Los Angeles County Waterworks, and Kathy MacLaren from the Palmdale Water District.
“This project, which has been in the planning stages for quite a while, will accomplish two very important things: one, and most important, it will recharge the groundwater basin beneath Palmdale, while creating a natural recreation space for residents,” Purtee said. “And eventually, recycled water from our wastewater treatment plant will also be piped to the recharged basins to further help feed the aquifer.”
“One of the most impressive things about this is that it’s a joint effort,” Hofbauer said. “When you have so many different agencies involved in one project, it can often be a complicated and tricky process. But my hat’s off to the staff and leadership of these agencies, as well as the contractors for the job, Nicholas Construction and Bowe Contractors, who came together with an exceptional plan and roadmap to make this important project a reality.”
“In addition to providing much needed water recharge for our basin, the project also includes plans to create a nature park along the recharge area, to be used for habitat restoration and as a pleasant area for residents to visit,” Bishop said.
The project is expected to cost $17 million and is expected to open in 2019.
For more information, contact Public Works at 661-276-5300.
[Information via news release from the city of Palmdale.]
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Tom Labossiere says
They better not raise our taxes we’ve been paying Mello-Roos taxes for 14 years.
Tom Labossiere says
I hope they’re going to put 20th Street through from Lake Isabella Road p8..
We Can Save Ourselves says
20th West will require a bridge over the creek at a cost to be saved up over time. Development will pay for it and It’s part of the plan. Call public works as they have great information, I did.
V.M. says
I second that motion
Jim Smith says
I strongly suspect the spelling (Armagosa) is incorrect – should be Amargosa. The USGS map shows only one creek in the Palmdale, Quartz Hill, and Lancaster area with a name anything like that, and it is spelled Amargosa. There is only one Palmdale school with a similar name and that is Amargosa Creek Middle School. A California government website (http://bondaccountability.resources.ca.gov/Project.aspx?ProjectPK=8477&PropositionPK=5) lists a project by the name of “Upper Amargosa Creek Flood Control, Recharge, and Habitat Restoration Project.” The city of Palmdale recently published a news release with the same incorrect spelling. I can understand our elected officials not knowing what they are talking about, after all they are politicians. But the reporters and editors should hold themselves to a higher standard.
V.M. says
I agree with that
eo2 says
Wow! A drop in the bucket for only a mere $17 million. All these years that they could have been releasing water from an existing valve from a a siphon into a natural channel for chump change.
Hope this works better than the previous attempt at water banking or recharge.
Armagosa Creek Recharge Project says
This project appears to be a smart investment for the future of SoCal.
V.M. says
I’ve waiting on the since day one.
My family and I are so excited.
“Pacific Creekside “