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Extracted from Consolidated Report
This investigation was originally published as part of a larger consolidated report containing multiple investigations. View the consolidated PDF for the complete document.
Santa Cruz County Grand Jury
• 2021-2022
_x_ Agree __ Partially Disagree __ Disagree Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): There are
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Note: Missing finding numbers detected: F3, F5, F6, F9, F10, F11
Findings 5 findings
F2
Page 94
There is an urgent need to create a county-wide drought-resilient water storage and delivery infrastructure. __ AGREE __ PARTIALLY DISAGREE _X_ DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): The urgency for, and availability of, drought resilient water projects varies significantly throughout the County. There is not a simple one-size-fits-all solution as this finding implies. Through the projects already underway, the water supply agencies are making significant progress at tackling water supply security.
F4
Page 94
Establishing a strategic groundwater reserve, as described in documents from the City of Santa Cruz, is a well-understood and achievable first step. __ AGREE _X_ PARTIALLY DISAGREE __ DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): This Finding does not describe what the “establishment of a groundwater reserve” is a first step in achieving. The MGA does identify “maintaining a drought reserve” as part of the Sustainability Goal included in the Groundwater Sustainability Plan. The Groundwater Sustainability Plan outlines several critical projects that should happen concurrently for the Basin to reach sustainability, not one before the other as the Finding implies. One of these projects is the City of Santa Cruz Water Department’s Aquifer Storage and Recovery project in the Mid-County Basin. The Pure Water Soquel Project is another. [Return to Table of Contents] 2021–2022 Consolidated Final Report with Responses 87
F7
Page 95
Existing City of Watsonville and City of Santa Cruz wastewater resources are only partially utilized to address passive well resting and saltwater intrusion issues. _X_ AGREE __ PARTIALLY DISAGREE __ DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): The MGA agrees that the City of Santa Cruz wastewater resources are not fully utilized. The MGA is not directly involved with the City of Watsonville and Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency on their wastewater resources and cannot respond to that item. Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury
F8
Page 104
Each agency described in this report communicates well with neighboring agencies, but collaboration is limited and narrow in scope. __ AGREE _X_ PARTIALLY DISAGREE __ DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): We partially disagree with this finding because, while we agree that the water agencies in Santa Cruz County typically communicate well, we don’t agree that the collaboration is “limited and narrow in scope”. The collaboration between agencies is ongoing and expanding. The breadth of collaboration varies depending on the alignment of each individual agency’s activities in support of their objectives and strategic work plan. There is a clear trend toward more comprehensive collaboration among larger groups of stakeholders. The proposed projects and management actions in the Santa Margarita Groundwater Agency’s (SMGWA) Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) are evidence of the extensive collaboration between San Lorenzo Valley Water District (SLVWD), Scotts Valley Water District (SVWD), the County and the City of Santa Cruz Water Department (SCWD). As initial steps in those collaborations, SVWD and SCWD applied for and received grant funding to construct a pipeline that will enable water supplies to be managed more efficiently across the region, and SLVWD and SCWD signed an agreement to cooperate regarding the process to enable SLVWD to exercise its contractual right to Loch Lomond water and are currently in discussions on how to advance this project. SMGWA is working on the implementation of its GSP agreeing on the approach of advancing a suite of projects (conjunctive use, aquifer storage and recovery, purified recycled water recharge) to be further investigated by SLVWD, SCWD and SVWD.
F12
Page 93
There is no county-level agency chartered to plan, propose, or build regional district-spanning drought-resilience infrastructure. _X_ AGREE __ PARTIALLY DISAGREE __ DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): There are many agencies that collectively span the entire County, and there have been county-level efforts for decades to help our region become more water secure. Another county-level agency is not necessary, and potentially not even desirable, due to the proven collaborative efforts of the local water agencies and the high cost of creating and running an agency. Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury ADDITIONAL FINDINGS (invited responses from the Mid- County Groundwater Agency Point of Contact)
Recommendations 3
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R1Page 96By December 31, 2022, the Boards of the Santa Margarita Groundwater Management Agency and the Mid-County Groundwater Management Agency should extend their charters to include and proactively deliver drought- resilience project planning and execution. __ HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED – summarize what has been done HAS NOT YET BEEN IMPLEMENTED BUT WILL BE IN THE FUTURE – __ summarize what will be done and the timeframe REQUIRES FURTHER ANALYSIS – explain the scope and timeframe __ (not to exceed six months) _X_ WILL NOT BE IMPLEMENTED – explain why Required response explanation, summary, and timeframe: The MGA operates under the powers and responsibilities provided by the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 (SGMA). These powers and responsibilities are limited to achieving groundwater sustainability within the Santa Cruz Mid-County Groundwater Basin. To the extent that achieving groundwater sustainability will also deliver drought-resiliency, the MGA is committed to take action. Specifically, the Sustainability Goal in the adopted and approved Groundwater Sustainability Plan includes “ensure operational flexibility within the Basin by maintaining a drought reserve.” During the development of the Groundwater Sustainability Plan, the MGA Board determined that the MGA would take a limited role in project development and implementation. Rather, the Board understood that the water supply agencies that comprise the Joint Powers Authority are better positioned to lead the design and implementation of multi-benefit projects. Neither the MGA nor the SMGWA have any direct staff. To change the charter of the MGA would require substantial funds to hire staff to plan for projects beyond those already in the approved GSP; it would lead to questions of “scope-creep” as it is beyond the powers and responsibilities authorized by SGMA; it would be ineffective, as the water supply agencies are better suited to focus on drought response; and it would be unnecessary, as the MGA is already committed to maintaining a drought reserve within the Basin. [Return to Table of Contents] 2021–2022 Consolidated Final Report with Responses 89
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R2Page 97By December 31, 2022, local water districts should jointly publish an integrated drought-resilience action plan that includes essential infrastructure improvements, estimated costs and schedule to complete improvements that will deliver drought resilience to the Mid-County Groundwater Basin, the City of Santa Cruz, and the Santa Margarita Basin by December 31, 2029. Agencies to respond are the San Lorenzo Water District, the Scotts Valley Water District, the City of Santa Cruz Water Department, the Soquel Creek Water District, the Santa Margarita Groundwater Management Agency, and the Mid-County Groundwater Management Agency. __ HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED – summarize what has been done HAS NOT YET BEEN IMPLEMENTED BUT WILL BE IN THE FUTURE – __ summarize what will be done and the timeframe REQUIRES FURTHER ANALYSIS – explain the scope and timeframe __ (not to exceed six months) _X_ WILL NOT BE IMPLEMENTED – explain why Required response explanation, summary, and timeframe: 90 Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury Cross-agency collaboration towards regional water supply security has been ongoing for decades. This is documented in publicly available resources, which include the following: • Individual water agency Urban Water Management Plans, water supply plans, and associated studies • The Groundwater Sustainability Plans for MGA and SMGWA which feature projects developed by several partner agencies • Agreements put in place to promote collaborative work including those for water transfers and operational studies between the City of Santa Cruz and Soquel Creek Water District, and a Memorandum of Understanding between the County of Santa Cruz, the City of Santa Cruz, San Lorenzo Valley Water District, and Scotts Valley Water District to investigate options for conjunctive use • The Integrated Regional Water Management Plan for Santa Cruz County • The Annual Water Resources Status Report produced by the County of Santa Cruz with updates on all the major water management programs throughout the County. Neither the water supply agencies, nor the MGA and SMGWA, have the staff, money, or bandwidth to develop the proposed action plan. Further, the plan would be duplicative of existing efforts and not provide any tangible benefit to the taxpayers/ratepayers that would be funding it.
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R4Page 101When your responses are complete, please email your completed Response Packet as a PDF file attachment to both The Honorable Judge Syda Cogliati Syda.Cogliati@santacruzcourt.org and The Santa Cruz County Grand Jury grandjury@scgrandjury.org. If you have questions about this response form, please contact the Grand Jury by calling 831-454-2099 or by sending an email to grandjury@scgrandjury.org. Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury