The National Ground Water Association (NGWA) presented its 2011 Outstanding Ground Water Project Awards, with its Ground Water Protection Award going to the Water Replenishment District of Southern California (WRD) for its Regional Groundwater Monitoring Program.

For more than 50 years, WRD has been managing the ground water replenishment and water-quality activities for the Central Groundwater Basin and the West Coast Groundwater Basin for the benefit of 4 million residents in south Los Angeles County. The analyses of information from the WRD Regional Groundwater Monitoring program helps the district plan and implement projects and programs to increase recycled water use, prevent seawater intrusion and capture and conserve storm water.

The WRD Regional Groundwater Monitoring Program includes 300 dedicated monitoring wells where ground water levels and ground water quality are tracked and analyzed. The district compiles an annual report to convey the ground water monitoring results to the public and regulatory agencies.

"The foresight WRD had 50 years ago to keep track of ground water conditions is paying huge dividends today," board member Albert Robles said while receiving the award. "We are proud to now operate one of the most sophisticated ground water monitoring and database programs in the country. Great to see WRD receiving recognition for its programs."

Governed by a publicly elected board of directors, the Water Replenishment District of Southern California is the regional ground water management agency that protects and preserves the quantity and quality of ground water for two of the most utilized urban basins in California. The service area is home to more than 10 percent of California's population residing in 43 cities in southern Los Angeles County.

For more information, visit WRD at www.wrd.org.