The Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command/Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (Combat Center) covers 935 square miles north of Twentynine Palms in California’s Mojave Desert. The Combat Center serves as the Marine Corps’ premier live fire training facility, and the installation supports a population of 20,000 to 35,000. Stetson Engineers provided the Combat Center with a series of reports to aid management of the Combat Center’s stressed water resources efficiently.

Stetson developed an Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) which summarized existing and future water supply, water demand, scenarios for potential changes in the future, and methods for increasing water service reliability. As part of this project, Stetson determined key drivers of water use, outlined the regulatory environment, assessed several supply enhancement options, and developed a water shortage and interruption plan.

Following the UWMP supply enhancement options, Stetson conducted a feasibility analysis of capturing and reusing stormwater to augment water supplies, extending the life of finite groundwater resources. The existing stormwater system, including annual stormwater runoff, was evaluated and alternatives and costs for collection, treatment, and reuse were quantified.

Additionally, Stetson Engineers prepared a Salt and Nutrient Management Plan for the Mesquite, Mainside, Surprise Spring, and Deadman Sub-basins aboard the Combat Center. Stetson quantified inputs and outputs of surface water and groundwater from the sub-basins in terms of volume and the constituents: Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Chloride, Sodium, and Nitrate. Seven management strategies were developed and modeled, and capital and operations costs were evaluated.