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At Monte Vista Water District, our highest priority is to provide the highest quality supply of drinking water that meets all federal and state drinking water standards. Please take a moment to read the Annual Water Quality Report for detailed information about the quality of MVWD's drinking water.
Safety of Drinking Tap Water
The water distributed by Monte Vista Water District that our customers receive at their taps meets or exceeds all state and federal drinking water standards set to protect public health.
The Federal Safe Drinking Act of 1974 and its 1986 amendments are intended to ensure the quality of our nation's water supplies. In order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California State Water Resources Control Board set forth regulations that limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems.
Water Sources
Drinking water (both tap water and bottled water) can come from a variety of different sources, including rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, springs, groundwater and reservoirs. Monte Vista Water District's drinking water supply is obtained from two main sources: groundwater and imported surface water. In addition, the District owns stock in San Antonio Water Company and receives its entitlement through a connection with the City of Upland. The sources of Upland's water supply include groundwater, local surface water (San Antonio Canyon), and imported surface water.
Groundwater Basin
Groundwater produced from the Chino Groundwater Basin comprises approximately 75% of the Monte Vista Water District's water supply portfolio. This supply source is utilized to serve both retail customers and its wholesale customer, the city of Chino Hills.
The Chino Groundwater Basin is located in the Santa Ana Watershed and encompasses an area of approximately 235 square miles. The storage volume of the basin is 5 million acre-feet with the capacity to store an additional one million acre-feet. The safe yield of the basin is limited to 140,000 acre-feet per year, which maintains safe groundwater levels.
Groundwater lies in an underground water-bearing soil called an aquifer and originates from rain, snow, and irrigation system return flows. Over the years, water will percolate through the soil, which acts as a large filter. It is then pumped from the ground through production wells, disinfected with chlorine and distributed to reservoirs and pipeline systems for use by customers.
Production Wells
The District operates 13 active groundwater production wells, four of which are Aquifer Storage and Recovery Wells. The total well capacity is 31.2 million gallons per day.
Extraction
Roughly 25% of the District's water supply is obtained from imported surface water that originates from northern California and is transported via the State Water Project's California Aqueduct to Lake Silverwood in the San Bernardino mountains. This water is extracted from the lake and directed to the Rialto Feeder, a large pipeline, owned by Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, that travels along the foothills, delivering water to area surface water treatment plants.
Treatment
The Water Facilities Authority (WFA) Agua de Lejos Treatment Plant in Upland treats the surface water to meet drinking water standards and then distributes it to its member agency owners - Monte Vista Water District and the cities of Chino, Chino Hills, Ontario and Upland.
Recycled Water System
Monte Vista Water District has diversified its water supply portfolio by building a non-potable recycled water distribution system. This supply source is being used to irrigate large landscapes in certain parts of the city of Montclair and offsets the need to use precious drinking water supplies for landscape irrigation.
Construction began in the spring of 2008 to extend a recycled water pipeline, originating from wastewater treatment plants in the Ontario/Rancho Cucamonga area and entering Montclair at San Bernardino Street at Benson Avenue. The pipeline travels south on Vernon Avenue to Orchard Avenue, westbound, ending at the San Antonio Channel. Multiple service laterals extend off this main pipeline to serve a variety of large-landscape customers.
Over 75 million gallons of water per year is being used by the District's current recycled water customers. The recycled water system could not have been completed without the financial assistance and cooperation of a number of local agencies:
- Montclair, Ontario-Montclair School District, and Chaffey Joint Union High School District worked closely with the District to make this local resource available to their parks and schools
- Chino Basin Water Conservation District and Metropolitan Water District of Southern California provided funding for the retrofit of irrigation systems to use recycled water
- Inland Empire Utilities Agency provides the recycled water and construction management services
View a map (JPG) of current sites in using recycled water or view the following list.
Schools
| Parks
| Other
|
For more information about recycled water, visit the Watereuse website.
To learn more about the role of water utilities, the costs that go into providing water services and how customers can help keep water affordable and available watch the Water: What You Pay For video.
Comments & Questions
If you have any questions or comments about the quality of your drinking water, call the Operations Department at 909-624-0035, ext. 185.