SATICOY : Agency Starts Converting Pit Into Reservoir
A Ventura County water agency has begun work on converting an abandoned Saticoy gravel pit into a reservoir, which officials said will eventually help to replenish ground-water supplies.
The United Water Conservation District, an agency that replenishes seven ground-water basins in the county, plans to have the new reservoir in operation by mid-March, said Fred Gientke, United’s general manager.
The reservoir, called the Fox Canyon Seawater Intrusion Abatement Program, will enable the Freeman Dam to divert more water from the Santa Clara River so it can seep into underground aquifers, Gientke said. The reservoir will be able to store up to 3,000 acre-feet of water per year, he said.
The project will help restore water levels in the Upper Oxnard Aquifer and in the deeper and larger Fox Canyon Aquifer, which cities and farmers have over-pumped for more than 50 years.
United purchased the 144-acre gravel pit from the Saticoy-based CalMat Co. for $2 million. It will spend another $2.5 million grading and preparing the pit and building pipelines.
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