Construction is underway on a Palm Desert groundwater replenishment facility, which the Coachella Valley Water District says will add up to 25,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water into the aquifer each year.

The new facility will be built in two phases, one placing replenishment ponds just south of the water district’s Steve Robbins Administration Building and another involving the construction of ponds within the Whitewater River Stormwater Channel, between Cook Street and Fred Waring Drive. An estimated completion date was not provided by CVWD.

Most of the funding for the $9.8 million facility comes from the West Valley Replenishment Fund, which collects revenue from assessment fees charged to public and private entities for pumping groundwater.

CVWD said that together with the Desert Water Agency, the two agencies have replenished more than 3.3 million acre-feet of imported water into the aquifer.

“CVWD is proud of our long history of stewardship of our groundwater that stretches back to our formation 100 years ago,” General Manager Jim Barrett said. “The mid-valley replenishment facility is the next step in this ongoing commitment.”

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