Washington, DC – Congressman Joe Baca (D-Rialto) announced that four water projects in the district have been included in the Water Resources Development Act passed by Congress today.

“These projects will protect the health, safety and quality of life in our communities,” said Congressman Baca. “I am pleased that all four of the projects I requested have been included.”

Each of the projects is described below:

Inland Empire Groundwater Remediation study
This study is needed to understand the scope of the perchlorate contamination of public drinking water supplies in the Rialto, Fontana, and Colton areas.

The cities and water utilities were forced to close 22 wells after they discovered perchlorate in the groundwater in the Rialto and Chino groundwater basins that exceeds state and federal health standards for public drinking water supplies. The contamination likely was caused by activities of the Army and defense contractors beginning during World War II involving use of perchlorate, an ingredient in rocket fuel.

Congressman Baca has been helping the Inland Empire Perchlorate Task Force approach the State of California and the federal government to spur the responsible parties to contribute to the cleanup. In the interim, the Task Force is seeking federal funds so that the water purveyors may remove the perchlorate from the water and reopen the wells that remain closed.

City of Rialto for the Lytle Creek Groundwater Recharge study
The City of Rialto seeks federal support for a master planning study that will identify and quantify the needs for flood control and groundwater recharge in the Lytle Creek. The study will also address the kangaroo rat habitat issues and will consider the regulatory and land use issues associated with the conversion of former sand and gravel quarries into water recharge facilities.

City of Colton for improvements to the Colton Drainage System
This project consists of installing a missing drainage system (reinforced concrete pipes, concrete box culvert and open channel) from La Cadena Drive to the existing reinforced concrete channel along Pellisier Road. These missing improvements will provide relief to the city and residents from constant erosion of property caused by flooding. It will also complete a missing portion of channel in an existing mobile home park along La Cadena Drive.

The federal share of the funding is capped at $7 million, and the local government will pay 35% of the cost.

City of Ontario for the Francis Street Storm Drain and Connectors Project
During the winter of 1998, the West Valley area of San Bernardino County received over double its annual rainfall. With no storm drains in south Ontario, a large volume of urban runoff caused significant localized flooding in areas of the city, and disastrous flooding in the dairy preserve, causing the death of about 16,000 dairy cows along with millions of dollars of property damage. These floods continue today. In addition, the EPA has recognized that flooding in this region has caused a significant deterioration of the groundwater quality because of nitrate contamination originating at the dairies. This contaminated ground water migrates southwesterly, affecting more than half of the homes and businesses in Orange County.

The federal share of the funding is capped at $7 million, and the local government will pay 35% of the cost.

Congressman Baca said, “I want to thank Congressman Gary Miller for his help in getting the Francis Street project in Ontario included. This will help prevent flooding not only in Ontario but also in Chino. We have worked together to meet the common needs of our districts.”