Valley State Prison & Central California Women’s Facility New Potable Water Wells

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is seeking to design and construct two new groundwater wells to provide a reliable supply of potable water for staff and the incarcerated population at Valley State Prison and the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla, California. This project is necessitated by a significant decline in aquifer levels, which have dropped an average of 10 feet per year due to drought and overuse, as well as the age and unreliability of existing wells. The new infrastructure is required to meet the Maximum Daily Demand, ensure operational reliability during future well failures, and allow for regular maintenance. The project must comply with the State Water Resources Control Board requirements and Section 64554 of the California Water Code. Work will be conducted on already developed prison property within highly disturbed undeveloped agricultural fields, and the project has been granted a categorical exemption under CEQA Class 1 as it is not located within an environmentally sensitive area and will have no significant environmental impact. The effort is categorized under NAICS code 237110, with Peter J. Connelly, Jr. serving as the primary point of contact for the Environmental Planning Section.