The city plans to install two wells within the next 18 months,
then three more over the next four and a half years
Gilroy – The city’s test-well drilling program has helped identify two of three well sites that will be needed to keep pace with the city’s growing water demands, according to city engineer Mike Goodhue.
The city began a drilling program in May that will test eight potential sites for water quality and production capacity.
The majority of the sites are publicly-owned property such as Las Animas Park, where workers this week conducted the latest round of tests.
Goodhue said the city has already identified San Ysidro and Forest parks as possible sources of future drinking water, and that initial results from Las Animas Park are promising.
“It looks good,” he said. “We’re actually looking at getting three wells. Once we get those we’ll be set for the next eight or nine years.”
The city provides potable water service to its residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional customers within the city limits, according to Gilroy’s 2000 urban water management master plan.
In 2001, Gilroy produced 2.6 billion gallons of water for a population of 43,000.
Today, the number of residents is closer to 50,000.
The water management plan projects that Gilroy will require about 4 billion gallons of water for the year 2020 – well within the city’s expected production capacity of 11.2 billion gallons.
The city plans to install two wells within the next 18 months and three additional wells over the next four and a half years, according to Goodhue.
Crews from Maggiora Brothers, with whom the city contracted for the test-well drilling, were working at Las Animas Park in northern Gilroy.
Crews will next test El Roble Park and another site by Rossi Lane and Luchessa Avenue.
The city has allocated $344,000 for the costs of drilling, according to Goodhue. Once future well sites are identified, the city must drill and install pumping stations at each well.
