ACWA Honors Bighorn-Desert View Water Agency With 2015 Clair A. Hill Water Agency Award

SACRAMENTO, CA--(Marketwired - May 7, 2015) - The Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) today presented the prestigious Clair A. Hill Water Agency Award to Bighorn-Desert View Water Agency for its Ames/Reche Groundwater Storage and Recovery Program.

The award was presented during the annual ACWA Spring Conference & Exhibition in Sacramento, where more than 1,600 local water officials are gathered through Friday for programs and panel discussions on a variety of key water issues. Bighorn-Desert View Water Agency was selected from among five finalists to receive the award.

"Bighorn-Desert View's program demonstrates the great strides local agencies can make when they work together to implement creative solutions for managing California's water resources," ACWA President John Coleman said. "Sustainable groundwater management is of the utmost importance and Bighorn-Desert View Water Agency and its partners should be commended for their efforts."

The Ames/Reche Groundwater Storage and Recovery Program is a collaborative effort among five participating water agencies focused on replenishing groundwater through a non-traditional project that promotes environmental biodiversity and preserves open-space. The project involved connecting the Ames Groundwater Basin to the State Water Project via a 3,650 foot conveyance pipeline to recharge up to 1,500 acre-feet annually on six acres of federally managed land. Participating agencies agreed to cooperatively manage groundwater using production caps, robust monitoring and long term storage accounting protocols as part of this innovative program.

ACWA's Clair A. Hill Water Agency Award for Excellence is an annual award program that recognizes outstanding achievements by public water agencies. The winning agency has the honor of awarding a $5,000 scholarship to a deserving student in the name of Clair A. Hill, founder of the consulting engineering firm CH2M Hill.

Other finalists for this year's award were:

• Irvine Ranch Water District, for its Strand Ranch Water Banking Project, a water banking program that enhances water supply reliability during dry years by allowing for the recovery of up to 17,500 acre-feet of banked groundwater in any single year.
• Monterey Peninsula Water Management District, for its Pure Water Monterey Advanced Water Treatment Demonstration Facility, a multi-agency groundwater replenishment pilot project that recycles water from multiple sources including wastewater, stormwater, industrial waters, and impaired surface water.
• Tuolumne Utilities District, for its Quartz Reservoir Reserve Pool Expansion, a project that allows TUD to save money, increase its operational flexibility and water supply, and marks the achievement of 100% recycling of all wastewater treated by the district.
• 7 Water Agency, for its Arroyo Mocho Riparian Restoration and Channel Enhancement Pilot Project, a creek restoration project that created a viable migration pathway for steelhead trout while maintaining flood conveyance capacity and groundwater recharge.

ACWA is a statewide association of public agencies whose 430 members are responsible for about 90% of the water delivered in California. For more information, visit www.acwa.com.