Page 29 - Beaumont Basin Watermaster

Section 3
Status of the Basin and Administration of the Judgment

average of 15,414 ac-ft/yr. Annual production for each of the Appropriators and for the Overlying
Producers combined is depicted in Figure 3-4.

3.3 Groundwater Recharge

The Watermaster is responsible for maintaining an annual account of all water artificially
recharged in the Beaumont Basin and any losses of water supplies or Safe Yield resulting
from such recharge water. Sources of groundwater recharge include imported water from the
State Water Project (SWP), recycled water, and new yield sources developed in the basin
since the Judgment inception in July 2003. The Watermaster has maintained the accounting
of groundwater recharge; however, losses from the basin, if any, have not been estimated.
Table 3-4 presents a summary of the annual groundwater recharge in the Beaumont Basin
since 2003 on a calendar year basis.

3.3.1 State Water Project Water Recharge
BCVWD’s Noble Creek spreading facility, located in the vicinity of Beaumont Avenue and
Cherry Valley Boulevard, is the only facility in the Beaumont Basin where deliveries of
imported water can be used to recharge the groundwater basin. The location of this
spreading facility is depicted in Figure 3-3. Deliveries of imported water are conducted
through the San Gorgonio Pass Water Agency, which is the State Water Contractor for this
area.

The BCVWD began taking deliveries of imported water for groundwater recharge in the Fall
of 2006 when 3,501 ac-ft were spread pursuant to the storage and recharge agreement on
file with Watermaster. Deliveries of imported water for BCVWD increased over the next five
years peaking in CY 2011 at 7,979 ac-ft and declining through 2015 to an all-time low of
2,773 ac-ft. BCVWD augmented spreading of imported water significantly in CY 2016 at
9,319 ac-ft and even more in CY 2017 to an all-time high of 13,590 ac-ft. A total of 72,121
ac-ft of imported water have been spread by BCVWD since CY 2006 as documented in
Table 3-4.

The City of Banning began purchasing imported water for recharge at the BCVWD’s Noble
Creek facility in July 2008 and has since recharged 12,942 ac-ft. in accordance with their
storage agreement on file with Watermaster. During CY 2012 and 2013, the City of Banning
spread an average of 100 ac-ft per month; spreading in CY 2014 and 2015 was reduced to
approximately half of that amount. However, spreading in CY 2016 and 2017 increased
significantly to 1,477 ac-ft and 1,350 ac-ft respectively.

In addition to imported water deliveries to BCVWD and the City of Banning at BCVWD’s
Noble Creek facility, SGPWA has also delivered significant quantities of imported water at
the Little San Gorgonio Creek Spreading Ponds. These spreading ponds are located outside
the adjudicated boundary of the Beaumont Basin and to the north of the Banning Fault, as
shown in Figure 3-3. Spreading of imported water at these spreading ponds is likely to be a
source of subsurface recharge to the Beaumont Basin; however, Watermaster has not
adopted this finding. Subsurface recharge across the Banning Fault was investigated as part
of the Safe Yield of the Basin determination study, completed in early 2015.

Beaumont Basin Watermaster 2017 Annual Report – DRAFT – February 2018 3-6