Suburban Water Systems (Suburban) needs to determine the viability of installing another well to maximize the use of locally supplied groundwater. The Engineering Department began work on an 8-inch diameter, 1,500 feet deep test well several months ago on a portion of the City of La Mirada’s public works yard close to the existing water quality treatment equipment at Suburban’s Plant 409.
The test well was constructed in the Central Basin, one of four groundwater basins in the Los Angeles Coastal Plain region. Suburban has water rights in this basin and could pump more water with an additional well. Groundwater basins are aquifers with distinct layers of water-yielding sand and gravel, usually separated from other sand and gravel beds by clay and silt confining sections.
Test wells are constructed to analyze water quality and capacity from multiple aquifers before investing in a more costly production well. Water quality samples for the Stage Road test well were taken from three discrete zones by drawing water from sections of the well that were isolated using inflatable bladders called “packers.” A submersible pump is lowered down the well to the desired test depth, and the packer is hydraulically inflated to seal the borehole above and below the pump.
Suburban teamed up with an industry-leading hydrogeology consulting firm to analyze the data from the tested intervals and determine the design basis for an optimal production well. Suburban expects final test results in August and will complete the production well design by the end of the year.
Suburban’s investment in developing local water source projects like this positively impacts our customers by increasing supply reliability, reducing drought stress on watersheds, and shrinking the carbon footprint required to import water from hundreds of miles away from Northern California and the Colorado River. The Stage Road test well is one of many projects that supports Suburban’s commitment to providing its customers with high-quality water that meets or exceeds all federal and state regulations.
Installation of the submersible pump with a well rig.
Discrete Zone Sampling
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