BBR Water Distribution Company
The Black Butte Ranch Water Distribution Company (BBRWDC) is responsible for protecting the quality of our drinking water sources and our water rights. The BBRWDC board meets periodically throughout the year. Board members are comprised of the BBRA board of directors members.
Our water is derived solely from ground water sources and is pumped to the surface through four wells. There are at least two ground water bearing zones under BBR.
A shallow aquifer is located within near surface alluvium, colluvium and shallow lava flows. Water within this upper aquifer flows to the north and east discharging as springs, two of which are Paulina and Captain Jack, as creeks, or flowing in the subsurface. Water within this shallow aquifer system is unconfined (an aquifer where the water table is exposed to the atmosphere through openings in the overlying materials). Black Butte Ranch Water Distribution Company's (BBRWDC) well #1 is only 78 feet deep, has a current static water level of 28 feet, produces 900+ gallons of water per minute, and draws its water from the shallow aquifer.
The second aquifer, a highly productive zone, is present at a depth over 300 feet below ground surface. BBRWDC wells #2, #3 and #4 pump out of this deep aquifer. Production comes primarily from a layer of red cinders and volcanic breccia which is up to 40 feet thick. The deep cinder and breccia aquifer is highly permeable and has been pump tested at rates up to 1200 gallons per minute in BBRWDC well #4. Water within the aquifer is confined to semi-confined (a formation in which the ground water is isolated from the atmosphere at the point of discharge by impermeable geologic formations). Static ground water levels (the distance from the ground surface to the water level in a well when no water is being taken from the well by a pump) between the deep aquifer and shallow aquifer differs by over 280 feet. The aquifers are not hydraulically connected. If they were, static water levels in both aquifers would be similar.
Safe drinking water is an essential resource and BBRWDC is blessed with an excellent resource. A great deal of complex, detailed information about the water quality could be presented. It can however, be stated succinctly in these two statements: Our water is safe to drink. We have no quality violations and our water quality meets, or is better than, state and federal standards.
BBRWDC routinely monitors your drinking water for certain constituents according to federal and state laws. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prescribes regulations which limit the amount of certain constituents in water provided by public water systems. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water. All drinking water, including bottled drinking water, may reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of some constituents. It is important to remember that the presence of these constituents does not necessarily pose a health risk. More information about water constituents and potential health effects can be obtained by calling the EPA's Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791).
BBRWDC Board Meeting Minutes
May 22, 2010 Meeting Minutes | June 19, 2010 Meeting Minutes (draft)
Water Company Meeting Minutes 11/19/11
Documents
Water Agreements 2011
Water Quality Reports
2009 Water Quality Report
