[CPEO-BIF] Palo Alto, California basement pumping

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Basement groundwater pumping raises concerns
Experts question safety of massive groundwater pumping for basements in 
Palo Alto

by Sarah Trauben and Georgia Wells
Palo Alto Online (CA)
November 19, 2010

Day-in, day-out from April through October, residents of Old Palo Alto 
have noticed the incessant pumping of water -- estimated at up to 13 
million gallons taken from one property alone.

In the last two years, eight property owners have built basements in or 
near the pricey neighborhood, according to Mike Nafziger, a Public Works 
Department senior engineer.

The catch is that the high water table in the area forces "dewatering" 
of millions of gallons of groundwater before a basement can be built. 
Yet because the aquifers flowing under Palo Alto are billions of gallons 
the impact of pumping is relatively small, according to one city 
official. At most it would cause a temporary depression in the water 
table, he said.

...


For the entire article, see
http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=19070

--


Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org



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