Baker City hears update on ASR wells, recent pipe breaks and switch back to meter-based billing

A staff member from the city's public works department briefed the Baker City Council on April 8 on the operation of the city's aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) wells, recent water-main breaks and a planned change in how residents will be billed for water.

The presentation reported historical ASR volumes, explained testing and operating cycles, and named both operational limits and costs: "Our data is collected on a water year, which is October 1 to September 30," the staff member said. The city reported recovered water totals of 78,779,000 gallons for 2022'1 (listed as '2, 23' in the presentation), 44,446,000 gallons for 2023'4, and 13,748,000 gallons year-to-date as of April 3. The staff member said the city's permitted injection limit is 240,000,000 gallons per year and that running the ASR wells continuously would raise power costs "approximately $13,000 per well per month."

Why it matters: the ASR system stores excess source water underground for recovery during peak-demand or drought…