Signal Hill officials gathered on Oct. 23 for a celebration bursting with new opportunities, as the city’s newest water well spouted out its first of many gallons.

Water Well No. 10, which can pump 1,100 gallons of water per minute, will allow the City to expand its ground water supply capacity, meaning the water Signal Hill pumps and keeps within the city. The more ground water supplies a city has, the less it has to purchase from outside sources. This is especially important during summer months, when water demand is at its peak.

Mayor Keir Jones called the well “a step towards longterm, sustainable living.”

The Mayor was joined by the Signal Hill City Council, City Manager Carlo Tomaino and various Public Works members to witness the first gush of water entering the well, which is more than three football fields deep.

The opening of Well 10 will also allow the City to give the other older wells needed maintenance and to rest each well when necessary.

The well will act as a replacement for former Well 8, which serviced the city between 1980 and 2018 before being decommissioned for a loss of pumping capacity and infrastructural issues. Well 10 was designed in 2020, and went under construction between 2021 and 2023. Meanwhile, Well 8 was demolished in early 2021 to make way for the new one, which sits about 20 feet from its predecessor.

Since 2023, Signal Hill has been conducting tests on the site, creating new training materials and submitting documents to the California State Water Resources Board’s Department of Drinking water.

With the opening of Well 10, Signal Hill’s water supply is poised for “greater self-sufficiency, stable production” and will allow the City “to adapt to changing regulations, climate variability, and fortify the infrastructure against future peak demand stresses,” the City said in a public statement.