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"GOLD MINE" BELOW! The water gods have been kind to us. Like a veritable lake of liquid gold, vast amounts Thank heaven for our basin Black and white photos show Beaumont's water technology, circa 1915. We've come a long way. Photos courtesy the Beaumont Library District. of water are stored beneath our feet in Beaumont, and there's plenty of room for even more! Water in the Beaumont Basin has given life to the Pass for more than a century. Now, the city and the Morongo Band of Mission Indians have joined together to increase the amount of water stored in the basin. Everything is made possible by the sprawling, kidney-shaped basin that covers 28 square miles between Banning and Yucaipa. Within this deep, unseen and almost unfathomable subterranean world, our precious groundwater sloshes about between the layers of soil and rock. Today, the Beaumont Basin is one of our biggest assets. REPLENISHING OUR BASIN With the Morongo Indians as partners, we're pursuing an ambitious campaign to assure the future of the Beaumont Basin for decades to come. We're putting enough recycled water back into our groundwater supply to serve 1,500 homes. Beaumont and the Morongo Indians have signed an historic agreement that calls for the tribe to pipe in and store high-quality State Project Water in the basin. The new water will help dilute salt and nitrogen in our groundwater and ensure our water is safe and healthy to drink. Beaumont and the tribe will share 10 billion gallons of storage space in the basin. The city also has the right to buy the water at market value. CREATING LIQUID GOLD The water that has been pumped out of our basin during the past century has created Taylor Reservoir Sanitation process Sanitation process lots of space between the soil and rocks and that space has become very valuable. Southern California water agencies could spend $45 million to $60 million during the next several decades to store water throughout our basin instead of building reservoirs. The city of Beaumont will reap tremendous benefits by storing that water. We could buy supplies of imported water from Northern California to help fill up the basin. We could pay for important water projects like big ponds to help water percolate into the ground, along with treatment plants for recycling water, new wells and pipelines. By adding to the stores of liquid gold beneath us and using space in the basin wisely, our underground treasure keeps growing. Our actions today will help ensure a bountiful supply of fresh groundwater for the future. BEAUMONT NOW | OCTOBER 2012 9

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