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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

[Return to Table of Contents] 2021–2022 Consolidated Final Report with Responses 163 The 2021–2022 Santa Cruz County

Published: August 22, 2022 16 pages
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Note: Missing finding numbers detected: F5, F7, F8

Findings 6 findings

F1 Page 182
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): The District Manager3 of the San Lorenzo Valley Water District agrees with this finding to the extent that existence of conditions leading to Stage 5 of the City’s Water Shortage Contingency Plan would likely be a serious concern to the entire region. The District Manager partially disagrees with the finding because the District does not have information indicating that the City’s Stage 5 would have an extreme economic impact on the District or the San Lorenzo Valley. No-growth policies have been in effect for decades in the San Lorenzo Valley, which help this area live within its means in terms of water resources and allow for potentially high local resiliency to drought conditions. The District is fortunate to have access to a diversity of water supplies, which has helped the District continue to provide reliable, safe and high quality water to the local community despite serious damage to water infrastructure caused by the CZU wildfire. Wildfire damage has kept several major water intakes offline while the District’s water system undergoes repairs. Many of the same factors that allow the District to maintain water service under emergency conditions in the San Lorenzo Valley also create the potential to conjunctively manage District water supplies to enhance local water supply reliability while creating environmental benefits in the San Lorenzo River watershed. The Grand Jury invited the District Manager to respond to this finding and did not assign it to the District’s the Board of Directors, and accordingly this response is offered by the District Manager and not the Board. Our Water Account Is Overdrawn Published on May 24, 2022 [Return to Table of Contents] 2021–2022 Consolidated Final Report with Responses 175
F2 Page 183
There is an urgent need to create a county-wide drought-resilient water storage and delivery infrastructure. __ AGREE X PARTIALLY DISAGREE __ DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): The Board of Directors and the District Manager of the San Lorenzo Valley Water District agree with the finding that there is an urgent need to create drought-resilient water storage and delivery infrastructure. This need is present throughout the State of California and particularly affects areas such as Santa Cruz County and neighboring areas that lack direct access to imported water. The District and many other governmental and non-governmental entities and individuals have been working diligently to address such issues for decades -- and with increased urgency after years of experiencing the effects of climate change including prolonged drought and wildfire. We partially disagree with the finding to the extent that a County-wide approach may not be the most effective way to meet the needs that exist within the County. In fact, areas within the County served by various water agencies have different geographical and hydrological characteristics and water-supply challenges. For example, the District is geographically distinct because of its location in the San Lorenzo Valley, which is distinguished as a no-growth area with declining water demand due to effective conservation efforts. Moreover, the District is fortunate to have access to diverse sources of surface and groundwater within the San Lorenzo Valley. For all of these reasons, the most critical drought resiliency issues facing the San Lorenzo Valley and the District, and the most practicable solutions, are quite distinct from other areas of the County. Our Water Account Is Overdrawn Published on May 24, 2022 176 Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury
F3 Page 184
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): -- Our Water Account Is Overdrawn Published on May 24, 2022 [Return to Table of Contents] 2021–2022 Consolidated Final Report with Responses 177
F4 Page 185
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): We agree that groundwater reserves provide a valuable buffer against drought-related water shortages. We partially disagree with the finding because the District’s approach for achieving such reserves is described in the District’s proposed Conjunctive Use Plan (CUP). The CUP was developed in partnership with the County’s Water Resources Division. It was published in July 2021 and currently is undergoing review and possible revisions in light of legal and other comments received during the environmental review process. The District is working toward finalizing and implementing its CUP in cooperation with neighboring water agencies and regulators. The District is fortunate to have access to diverse sources of surface and groundwater that give the District the ability to conjunctively manage its water supplies to enhance water supply reliability while creating environmental benefits. The CUP envisions increasing the ability to call upon unused or underutilized water sources when water is available in order to rest groundwater wells and thereby promote recharge in the Santa Margarita groundwater basin. Increased recharge of the basin would, in turn, increase minimum base flows in streams within the basin. The CUP presents a straightforward and achievable project for enhancing aquatic habitat and water supply reliability within the San Lorenzo River watershed and the Santa Margarita groundwater basin. The proposed project described in documents from the City of Santa Cruz Water Department and, more recently, in the groundwater sustainability plan adopted by the Santa Margarita Groundwater Agency, involves pumping excess winter flows into the overdrafted Lompico aquifer in the Santa Margarita groundwater basin to create drought storage for the City of Santa Cruz. The principle behind storing excess surface water flows in an aquifer and then extracting the water during a drought is well understood, but, in practice there are many challenges to implementing aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) projects. For example, pumping into a deep, confined aquifer consisting of only moderately permeable sandstone/siltstone such as the Lompico aquifer is different than many successful ASR projects in shallower, more permeable aquifers. Our Water Account Is Overdrawn Published on May 24, 2022 178 Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury
F6 Page 173
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): Required Response from the City Council, City of Watsonville Exhibit “A” Our Water Account Is Overdrawn Due by August 22, 2022 166 Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury
F9 Page 174
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): Water conservation and sustainability are both significant components that help communities become more resilient. The City of Watsonville communicates regularly with its community and meets regularly with local public water agencies to discuss its water. We highlight our water resources through local events such as Day of the Child, World Wetlands Day (in partnership with Watsonville Wetlands Watch) and Coastal Cleanups. The City of Watsonville’s programs of water use efficiency have effectively lowered the gallons per capita per day of water consumption, allowing the water system to maintain a flat level of water production, despite changing populations. For areas outside City limits, the City has continued its nearly twenty-year working relationship with the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency (PV Water) to focus on sustainable drought resiliency for the agricultural community. Continued agency collaboration within the Pajaro Valley groundwater basin, combined with residential and commercial programs aimed at conservation will continue this trend towards resiliency. Required Response from the City Council, City of Watsonville Exhibit “A” Our Water Account Is Overdrawn Due by August 22, 2022 [Return to Table of Contents] 2021–2022 Consolidated Final Report with Responses 167

Recommendations 4