Construction begins on $40 million Puente Valley water project

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced the start of construction of a groundwater treatment system in Puente Valley.

The $40-million treatment system, expected to be completed by 2020, will capture and remove volatile organic compounds, 1,4 dioxane, perchlorate, and hexavalent chromium from groundwater, the EPA said in a statement.

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. will install two miles of underground pipeline and construct a groundwater treatment facility. Once completed, the facility will extract contaminated water from underground and send it to the treatment plant.

The new facility will treat over two million gallons of groundwater a day and meet state and federal drinking water standards.

“This new facility in the City of Industry is a milestone for the San Gabriel Basin and the Water Quality Authority,” San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Authority Board Chairman Jorge Marquez said in a press statement. “It represents the 32nd water treatment facility built in the San Gabriel Valley and it is the first to use reverse osmosis in the treatment process.”