Glendale reactivates long lost water well

Glendale Water & Power reopened a long-forgotten water well this week that officials said should save the utility about $245,000 each year in needed water imports.

The well had once provided water to La Crescenta and North Glendale before the area was annexed. When Glendale Water & Power assumed service of the area, vegetation had overgrown the closed well and it was forgotten, according to the utility.

Years later, a utility employee found documentation of the old well and investigated the site. After testing showed the well was still good, Glendale Water & Power constructed a pipeline connecting it to the New York reservoir and began pumping water in May. On Tuesday, city officials commemorated the reopened well at a ceremony.

The well, which operated around the clock, is expected to allow the utility to import about 350 acre feet less water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, for a savings or about $245,000.

In a statement, Peter Kavounas, assistant general manager of water at the utility, said increasing local water production will reduce the city’s dependence on more expensive imports.

“The Foothill Well brings us one step closer to our goal,” he said.