Santa Cruz County Grand Jury • 2022-2023 • Agency Response
Response to: Our Water Account Is Overdrawn

Santa Cruz Grand Jury Scotts Valley Water District Response to Findings and

Published: August 17, 2022 10 pages
Ver PDF original

Note: Missing finding numbers detected: F5

Findings and Recommendations 11 findings

F1 Page 7
If extended drought conditions lead the City of Santa Cruz to execute Stage 5 of its Water Shortage Contingency Plan, it will have extreme economic impacts on all residents throughout the County. AGREE X PARTIALLY DISAGREE DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): Executing Stage 5 of any agency’s Water Shortage Contingency Plan will have extreme impacts, economic and social, to the customers of that agency. The impacts to the regions’ residents will also be significant but will partially depend on the specific activities implemented by the City of Santa Cruz and their duration.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
Page 8
By 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
F2 Page 4
There is an urgent need to create a county-wide drought-resilient water storage and delivery infrastructure. X AGREE PARTIALLY DISAGREE DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): Although we agree that county-wide collaboration makes a lot of sense, it might be more practicable to focus on planning and implementing regional solutions that eventually can be connected to/into county-wide system.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
Page 9
By 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
F3 Page 4
Interdistrict water-sharing plans spanning North County and Mid-County that could benefit all residents have existed since 2015 and deserve to be accelerated. X AGREE PARTIALLY DISAGREE DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): Conjunctive use and other water sharing initiatives that have been investigated benefit the residents that are served by public water agencies. A considerable number of people in the County are served by small systems or private wells and they remain vulnerable to the impacts from changing climate patterns.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
Page 10
By December 31, 2022, local water districts should jointly publish an integrated recycled wastewater action plan that specifies the infrastructure improvements, expected costs, and construction schedule that will fully utilize existing wastewater sources by December 31, 2026. Responding agencies are the Scotts Valley Water District, the City of Santa Cruz Water Department, the Soquel Creek Water District, the Central Water District, the Mid-County Groundwater Management Agency, the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency, and the City of Watsonville Water Division. HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED – summarize what has been done HAS NOT YET BEEN IMPLEMENTED BUT WILL BE IN THE FUTURE – X summarize what will be done and the timeframe REQUIRES FURTHER ANALYSIS – explain the scope and timeframe (not to exceed six months) WILL NOT BE IMPLEMENTED – explain why
F4 Page 4
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): Although the City of Santa Cruz has already completed several investigative activities, there are many more studies that will need to be undertaken before it can be concluded which project(s) are the best suited for Santa Margarita basin and offer the highest benefit for all stakeholders.
No recommendations for this finding
F6 Page 5
Limited interdistrict water transfers have been achieved and serve as proof of concept. X AGREE PARTIALLY DISAGREE DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree):
No recommendations for this finding
F7 Page 7
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):
No recommendations for this finding
F8 Page 5
Each agency described in this report communicates well with neighboring agencies, but collaboration is limited and narrow in scope. X AGREE PARTIALLY DISAGREE DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree):
No recommendations for this finding
F9 Page 5
Agency communications to the public emphasize conservation and sustainability while downplaying agency planning to achieve drought resilience. AGREE PARTIALLY DISAGREE X DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): Scotts Valley Water District along with the other public water agencies has been actively and strategically working on increasing its drought resilience for more than a decade. We try hard communicating the District’s strategic goals and workplan to our stakeholders and have used a wide variety of channels for reaching the public: e- Newsletter, social media, booth at Scotts Valley Farmers Market, presentations to the local service groups, at the Senior Life Online Webinar and at the annual Mayor’s State of the City.
No recommendations for this finding
F10 Page 6
The individual water supply districts lack funding, resources, and charters to develop county-centric drought-resilience infrastructure. X AGREE PARTIALLY DISAGREE DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree):
No recommendations for this finding
F11 Page 6
The Groundwater Sustainability Management agencies lack the charters, staff, and resources to plan or execute a county-wide drought-resilience strategy. X AGREE PARTIALLY DISAGREE DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree):
No recommendations for this finding
F12 Page 6
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): ADDITIONAL FINDINGS (invited responses from SVWD General Manager)
No recommendations for this finding