2012 NGWA Ground Water Summit: Innovate and Integrate

The City of Fresno's Plan for a Sustainable Water Future

Tuesday, May 8, 2012: 8:00 a.m.
Royal Ballroom C (Hyatt Regency Orange County)
Gerry Nakano, PE, West Yost Associates;
Martin Querin, PE, City of Fresno;

The City of Fresno has embarked on a comprehensive water supply program with an overall objective of providing safe, reliable and sustainable water supplies for existing and future residents and businesses. The City has historically relied solely on local groundwater supplies to meet water demands; however, this exclusive reliance has had a negative impact on the underlying groundwater basin. With already declining groundwater levels, each year the City continues to operate in this mode, groundwater level declines will accelerate, groundwater quality will be further degraded and available groundwater resources negatively impacted.

The City has developed an updated Metropolitan Water Resources Management Plan (Metro Plan) to evaluate existing water supply conditions and future needs and develop a comprehensive water supply plan for the future. The plan incorporates the following strategies:

  • Diversification and optimization of the City’s water supply portfolio to enhance reliability;
  • Conjunctive use of available water supplies to make maximum use of available surface water supplies;
  • Balanced and sustainable use of groundwater supplies and recharge facilities to minimize or eliminate groundwater overdraft and quality degradation;
  • Increased surface water treatment capability including expansions of the City’s existing Northeast Surface Water Treatment Facility (SWTF) and a new Southeast SWTF;
  • New water management approaches including increased water conservation programs and water recycling; and
  • Acquisition of new water supplies to supplement existing supplies.

The transition from an aging system relying only on groundwater to a diverse system incorporating groundwater, treated surface water, recycled water and other new supplies is not an easy one. The Metro Plan provides the City with a detailed road map which will facilitate future water resource management policies and decisions, enhance infrastructure and water supply improvement planning, and provide a foundation for meeting eligibility requirements for grants and loans to help finance the program.