Santa Cruz County Grand Jury • 2004-2005

Soquel Creek Water District

Published: December 15, 2004 6 pages
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Findings 23 findings

F1
Water is drawn almost exclusively from groundwater aquifers. These are either overdrafted or are in danger of contamination from seawater intrusion. According to district documents, “studies…show that mid-county groundwater wells are threatened by saltwater contamination, which could result in district customers and other well operators facing supply shortages.”1
F2
The district’s 2004 Groundwater Assessment Report states that coastal wells are threatened by seawater intrusion. The wells are near Pleasure Point and the Seascape/La Selva Beach area. The report states that stronger protections are needed in these areas to preserve the quality of groundwater.
F3
The Soquel Creek Water District has plans to experiment with injection wells to pump water from another part of the Purisima Aquifer and putting that water in wells near Aptos that are in danger of saltwater intrusion.
F4
The Groundwater Model Project consists of updating the district’s computer- generated groundwater model. The model would assist in developing pumping strategies that would restore and retain sufficient coastal groundwater levels to serve as a barrier against seawater intrusion. Integrated Resources Plan, 2003: Statement of Future Water Demand Projections, Spring 2005. Overdraft and Building
F5
Current demand exceeds the safe yield of local aquifers. The water district is seeking new water supplies. One solution is to import water from the Central Valley, in cooperation with the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency. The second is to build a regional desalination plant, in cooperation with the City of Santa Cruz.
F6
Santa Cruz County’s 1994 General Plan anticipated that the cumulative demand of growth both within Soquel Creek Water District and outside the urban service line will result in an overdraft of 500 acre feet by 2010.
F7
Technical studies prepared by Soquel Creek Water District indicate that existing groundwater sources in mid-county cannot support projected demand at buildout of the current General Plan. These studies show that another 2,000 acre-feet per year are needed to meet buildout of the General Plan, even with a substantial conservation effort.
F8
The Santa Cruz County Draft Housing Element would re-zone 44 acres for higher density housing to provide affordable housing. The proposed affordable housing provisions will increase water demand within the district.
F9
The district has three options for acquiring more water: • the regional seawater desalination plant with the City of Santa Cruz • the water import/groundwater banking option with the City of Watsonville and PVWMA • a creek diversion project which would skim excess winter water (December to May) into a holding pond. The water would be available for immediate use or placed in storage. This privately owned land would have to be purchased by the district. The stream diversion project would cost between $19 and $25 million.2
F10
The district hopes to include the City of Santa Cruz and the county as partners in groundwater conservation and management. The district is working to resolve water supply issues by implementing a groundwater management program, establishing a conservation program to reduce demand and evaluating new water supply options to supplement groundwater.
F11
According to Soquel Creek Water District personnel, the county permit process may cause any new water projects to take several years.
F12
The water district has adopted a Water Demand Offset policy as an interim measure to allow development to continue without increasing the ground water overdraft. This requires developers to retrofit existing customers with enough water-saving items to provide water savings equal to the amount of water the new developments would require. Retrofits include waterless urinals, synthetic turf and low-flow toilets.
F13
All residential, commercial and industrial buildings within the part of the City of Capitola served by the Soquel Creek Water District are required to be retrofitted with 2 Metroactive News, “Dousing for Dollars,” December 2004. low-consumption plumbing fixtures when a property is sold. Soquel Creek Water District certifies property as conforming and issues a certificate.
F14
The district has established water-use efficiency requirements for new development to help protect water supply. They include the following: • limited lawn area • limited spray irrigation • irrigation designed to avoid runoff and overspray • the use of soil conditioners to help retain moisture
F15
Soquel Creek Water District has several innovative water efficiency programs. In 2004, they were able to save both electrical energy and 140 acre feet of water through several innovative water efficiency programs. By 2010, the district aims to conserve an additional 600 acre-feet and, through reduced pumping alone, cut annual energy use by more than 2 million kilowatt hours. District Finances
F16
The district receives no tax revenues. Current rates generate funds for operations and management plus approximately $1 million annually for capital programs.
F17
District water bills increased in January 2005. The amount of the increase depended on meter size and water usage.
F18
A water rate fee consultant supported the need to increase fees.3 Rate increases were needed to: • maintain existing infrastructure and operations; • enable the district to fund its ongoing capital program; • allow the district to build and maintain fund reserves; and • keep rates in line with the cost of inflation.
F19
In 2003-04, the district began with about $4 million in reserves. That amount fell to $800,000 by the end of the year with the completion of capital projects.
F20
To lessen the impact of increasing charges on rate-payers, the district has payment options and a schedule for projected rate increases.
F21
The district has submitted an application for up to $250,000 from the State of California’s Department of Water Resources’ Local Groundwater Assistance Grant Program. Two projects eligible for groundwater assistance grant funding are: • the Groundwater Management Plan Update; and • the Groundwater Model Update.
F22
Staff representatives from the City of Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County Environmental Health and the Central Water District have begun meeting to discuss a proposed cooperative agreement for managing the entire Soquel-Aptos Groundwater Basin. Integrated Resources Plan 2003, Statement of Future Water Demand Projections, Spring 2005.
F23
The district is working with other agencies within the county to apply for approximately $25 million under Proposition 50 (the Water, Security, Clean Drinking Water, Coastal and Beach Protection Act of 2002). This includes preparing a Santa Cruz County Integrated Water Resources Management Plan. The plan will identify the highest priority water resource projects and will determine water supply reliability, quality and water resource management. Conclusions

Recommendations 5