Ground-Water Contamination
Rep. Esteban E. Torres’ (D-La Puente) efforts in grappling with the ground-water contamination problem in the San Gabriel Valley are welcome (“It’s Do-It-Ourselves Time,” Commentary, Oct. 28).
Ground-water contamination in and beyond the San Gabriel Valley poses a serious threat to an extremely valuable Southern California water resource. It not only threatens the water produced each year from a number of the Southland’s underground aquifers but also the capacity of these basins to store water in times of plenty for use in periods of scarcity.
The San Gabriel Basin currently supplies water for about 1 million people. Potential storage capacity is estimated at 2 million acre-feet--enough to meet the annual demands of 4 million families--eliminating the need for a surface water reservoir of a similar volume.
Answers to this problem will be difficult and expensive, but it is absolutely vital that the issue be solved if we are to avoid serious water shortages.
Cooperation between private, public and political entities is a key factor toward success.
CARL BORONKAY, General Manager
Metropolitan Water District
Los Angeles
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
