AVEK studies importing water to airport

Half of the funds for a preliminary feasibility and engineering report on a proposal to pipe water 5.5 miles from the aqueduct to the airport were approved by the Antelope Valley East Kern Water Agency Tuesday.

The total cost of the study is expected to be $10,000. AVEK will pay $5,000, and Los Angeles World Airports - formerly the Los Angeles City Department of Airports - will pay the other $5,000, according to AVEK officials.

While large-scale development of Palmdale Airport remains in a holding pattern, some of the 17,000-acre property is being leased to farmers.

Demand for affordable agricultural land is what spurred development of the idea, said Carl B. Hunter, a member of the AVEK board.

Leasing an acre of farmland without water costs $250 to $450 per year, board members said. At Palmdale Airport, farmers pay $25 to $35 per acre annually.

The price includes water, which is pumped from wells. About 2,000 acres of airport land are currently in production.

With prices like that, growers are lined up for a chance to plant on at least 7,000 more acres, Hunter told the board.

The project calls for 54 12-inch water outlets, each with 100 pounds of pressure per square inch. Each spout would supply enough water for 160 acres of crops. The gravity-flow system would require no pumping and would bring 26,000 acre feet of aqueduct water per year to the site.

Water for the project would come from an AVEK-owned turnout in the California Aqueduct near 67th Street East and State Route 138. Near Littlerock Creek, it is the closest turnout to the airport property. Pipes would be used to move the water 5.5 miles from the aqueduct to the area to be farmed.

Hunter said the project could cost up to $10 million. Under the proposed plan, the airport would pay for the pipes and make back the investment over 10 to 12 years through leasing the watered land to farmers.

Other possible users of water from an expansion of the AVEK system near Littlerock include the Palmdale Water District, the east side of Lancaster and possibly Edwards Air Force Base if the line is run farther north, Hunter said.

The turnout near 67th Street East would also be a good place to pull water out of the aqueduct for groundwater recharge, officials said. Water could be dumped into the dry riverbed of Littlerock Creek, helping recharge the aquifer.

Not everyone has faith in a greener future at the airport site.

"I'm not confident this is a serious proposal," said board member Neal A. Weisenberger.

He said airport administrators in Los Angeles have historically been unwilling to take any sort of public heat for spending money in the Antelope Valley on projects other than the expansion of Palmdale Airport.

"People will see them spending $10 million on water pipes and wonder why they aren't putting that money into the airport," Weisenberger said.

Board member George Lane said the project makes sense because it will be needed down the road.

"We're just starting this process," said board member Andy Rutledge. "It will take a longtime. We'll take the first step and see where it goes."

No other meeting or discussion of the project is expected until the feasibility study has been completed, board members said.

Jim Bort, an agricultural land developer with Los Angeles World Airports in Palmdale, has said the project could provide up to 1,000 long-term agricultural jobs. Workers would be needed to prepare the land, as well as seed it and maintain and harvest crops.