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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
__ Agree X Partially Disagree __ Disagree Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): We agree
⚠️ 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.
Findings 12 findings
F1
Page 142
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): We recognize a Santa Cruz Stage 5 curtailment of duration would have a significant impact to the City of Santa Cruz and its customers. However, to our current knowledge, no economic study has been conducted to evaluate the impacts throughout Santa Cruz County from the City of Santa Cruz implementing Stage 5 curtailment. The vast majority of water used in the County is from groundwater sources and not water provided by the City of Santa Cruz, which gets 95% of its water from surface water sources. For reference, an economic study was conducted for the Pure Water Soquel Project and it concluded that without this purified recycled water project, Soquel Creek Water District customers would have to pay significantly more for water and need to ration water, and that the project had a positive impact on the community of almost one billion dollars ($1,000,000,000). [Return to Table of Contents] 2021–2022 Consolidated Final Report with Responses 135
F2
Page 143
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): While water storage opportunities may traditionally be thought of as above ground tanks and reservoirs, the groundwater basin in our local region (Santa Cruz Mid- County Groundwater Basin) has storage capacity to provide a drought resilient fresh water supply that can protect against further seawater contamination and seawater intrusion. Currently, the State of California has declared the Santa Cruz Mid-County Groundwater Basin (Basin 3-001) as critically overdrafted and has mandated the local groundwater agency (Santa Cruz Mid-County Groundwater Agency) to bring the basin back into sustainability by 2040. This basin provides 100% of the water needs to the majority of mid-SC County’s residents and it is extremely important that this freshwater be protected and preserved. Along with the City of Santa Cruz’s shortfalls with their surface water supplies being greatly impacted with drought conditions, we agree there is an urgent need to create solutions for drought-resilient water storage and delivery infrastructure, including the Pure Water Soquel Project. Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury
F3
Page 144
Interdistrict water-sharing plans spanning North County and Mid-County that could benefit all residents have existed since 2015 and deserve to be accelerated. __ AGREE X PARTIALLY DISAGREE __ DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): Water purveyors in the North and Mid County regions have collaborated, discussed, and developed potential sharing concepts over the years. While there aren’t any concrete plans and we would always like to move faster – there are ideas, concepts, and joint studies that have been considered to provide benefits to the entire community. Two recent examples: • The water transfer pilot project between the City of Santa Cruz and Soquel Creek Water District is still in the testing mode to evaluate water quality blending and other potential issues. • The Pure Water Soquel Project is currently being built, which was sized so that the conveyance pipeline can handle double the capacity that Soquel Creek Water District is projected to need in the event that the water treatment facilities are ever expanded in the future (also for double capacity). As analyzed in the previously certified EIR for the project, expansion of this project is not reasonably foreseeable at this time, but proper environmental review will be done if and when the District decides to expand use of the Project . There are currently no formal plans or agreements in place for others to expand or use the available future capacity. As part of a recent Department of Water Resources (DWR) grant for critically overdrafted groundwater basins, the Santa Cruz Mid-County Groundwater Agency grant, the City of Santa Cruz, and Soquel Creek Water District will be evaluating various water-sharing scenarios to address groundwater sustainability and drought resiliency needs. [Return to Table of Contents] 2021–2022 Consolidated Final Report with Responses 137
F4
Page 145
Establishing a strategic groundwater reserve, as described in documents from the City of Santa Cruz, is a well-understood and achievable first step. __ AGREE __ PARTIALLY DISAGREE X DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): Our understanding is the City of Santa Cruz efforts to create a groundwater reserve are still being explored and tested. Thus, it may not be technically accurate to classify those efforts as "well-understood” and thus not sure if it is an “achievable first step”. We hope their efforts will achieve the desired results and the District is committed to continuing efforts with the City as partners on their aquifer storage recovery testing, the pilot water transfer project, and evaluating the potential for incorporating the expansion portion of the Pure Water Soquel project into their water supply portfolio as well as those of other entities, if desired. Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury
F5
Page 146
The City of Santa Cruz’s completion of the water rights revision project is a critical element of enabling district collaboration in support of county-level drought resilience. __ AGREE X PARTIALLY DISAGREE __ DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): The City of Santa Cruz’s water rights project is an important component to expansion of surface water opportunities and their drought resilience. While it may be helpful for drought resiliency for other agencies - it is not as critical of an element for other agencies that use groundwater and are incorporating recycled water into their portfolios. For example, the Soquel Creek Water District/City of Santa Cruz collaboration related to the Pure Water Soquel purified recycled water project is being constructed regardless of the City’s water rights revisions. [Return to Table of Contents] 2021–2022 Consolidated Final Report with Responses 139
F6
Page 147
Limited interdistrict water transfers have been achieved and serve as proof of concept. __ AGREE __ PARTIALLY DISAGREE X DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): The Cooperative Water Transfer Pilot Project agreement between the City of Santa Cruz and Soquel Creek Water District was created in 2015 with the hope of transferring about 300 acre-feet per year to Soquel Creek Water District with various testing to be conducted. Unfortunately, since that time water has been transferred only four (4) times since 2015, with the average of about 34 acre-feet year. The City also conducted a modeling study showing there is not enough surface water to reliably solve both the City's need for a drought supply and reliably meet Soquel Creek Water District’s need for water to create and maintain a seawater intrusion barrier in its service area. Besides the limited and irregular surface water quantities available for transfer, water-quality and other concerns/considerations are needed to be evaluated further as part of both agencies’ due diligence and ‘proof of concept’ for its customers. Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury
F7
Page 148
Existing City of Watsonville and City of Santa Cruz wastewater resources are only partially utilized to address passive well resting and saltwater intrusion issues. __ AGREE X PARTIALLY DISAGREE __ DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): Our understanding is that the PV Water and the City of Watsonville use almost all their wastewater resources; however, they should be contacted to verify their situation. We agree with the statement regarding the wastewater resources for the City of Santa Cruz.
F8
Page 131
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 agree that water agencies in Santa Cruz County typically communicate well and frequently on a wide range of matters. One example of such collaboration is the formation of the Santa Margarita Groundwater Agency (SMGWA) as a joint powers agency by and among the District, the Scotts Valley Water District, and the County. SMGWA meets regularly and collaborates with the City of Santa Cruz Water Department, Mt. Hermon association and private well owners to provide for sustainable management of the Santa Margarita groundwater basin as required by California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. The groundwater sustainability plan recently adopted by SMGWA sets forth a number of potential projects that, if implemented, would involve extensive collaboration, including with the City and the Soquel Creek Water District, on a wide range of projects. Separately, the District appreciates many offers of support and cooperation made by neighboring water entities in connection with the CZU wildfire and other previous disasters. We partially disagree with the finding because we would not characterize such inter- agency collaboration as being “limited and narrow in scope.” Our Water Account Is Overdrawn Published on May 24, 2022 124 Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury
F9
Page 132
Agency communications to the public emphasize conservation and sustainability while downplaying agency planning to achieve drought resilience. __ AGREE X PARTIALLY DISAGREE __ DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): We agree that water agency communications to the public often emphasize conservation and sustainability. Legal mandates drive many such communications. For example, California statutes and regulations require water purveyors to adopt and implement water shortage contingency plans (WSCPs). WSCPs establish the actions to be taken by water agencies in response to drought and other impacts on local water supplies. Such actions may include community outreach and education about the importance of conserving water. Similarly, “sustainability” has been a frequent topic of communications by the District and outreach by Santa Margarita Groundwater Agency since the historic passage in 2014 of California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. The District also communicates with its residents about the District’s efforts to achieve drought resilience through, among other things, conjunctive use. We partially disagree with the finding because we have not observed downplaying of the need to achieve drought resilience, which is inextricably linked with water shortage contingency planning and sustainability planning. Our Water Account Is Overdrawn Published on May 24, 2022 [Return to Table of Contents] 2021–2022 Consolidated Final Report with Responses 125
F10
Page 133
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): We agree that individual water supply agencies, particularly relatively small ones such as the District, do not have the resources or mission to take the lead in developing County-centric infrastructure. The District actively collaborates with the County’s Water Resources Division and neighboring water agencies and likely would participate in regional or County-wide infrastructure projects to the extent they provide benefits for the District and its residents. Our Water Account Is Overdrawn Published on May 24, 2022 126 Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury
F11
Page 134
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): We agree that the Santa Margarita Groundwater Agency (SMGWA), of which the District is a founding member, cannot focus its resources on County-wide strategies. SMGWA could participate in regional or County-wide projects to the extent such projects benefit the Santa Margarita groundwater basin and are consistent with SMGWA’s mission under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. Several of the proposed management actions in the Groundwater Sustainability Plan submitted in January 2022 by SMGWA involve regional collaborations that address drought resilience -- in particular the proposed projects to use the Lompico aquifer for drought storage for the City of Santa Cruz and to use treated wastewater from Pure Water Soquel to augment groundwater supplies in Scotts Valley Water District. Our Water Account Is Overdrawn Published on May 24, 2022 [Return to Table of Contents] 2021–2022 Consolidated Final Report with Responses 127
F12
Page 135
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): -- Our Water Account Is Overdrawn Published on May 24, 2022 128 Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury
Recommendations 4
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R1Page 136By 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 District is a founding member agency of the Santa Margarita Groundwater Management Agency (SMGWA). SMGWA already has broad authority under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), the Joint Powers Act, and its governing documents. Such authority includes the ability to collaborate on drought resiliency projects to the extent such projects benefit the Santa Margarita groundwater basin and are consistent with SMGWA’s purpose and jurisdiction as a groundwater sustainability agency. Under SGMA, the purpose of a groundwater sustainability agency such as SMGWA is to sustainably manage its groundwater basin to prevent certain undesirable conditions such as chronic lowering of groundwater levels, degraded water quality, decline in base flows to creeks from groundwater (necessary for fisheries, etc.), and deterioration of groundwater-dependent ecosystems. Avoiding these undesirable conditions may, at times, be inconsistent with providing water to areas outside the basin and therefore be at cross-purposes with considerations of regional drought resiliency. Our Water Account Is Overdrawn Published on May 24, 2022 [Return to Table of Contents] 2021–2022 Consolidated Final Report with Responses 129
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R2Page 137By 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: Through the District’s participation in the Santa Margarita Groundwater Agency (SMGWA), the District already has made significant contributions toward prioritizing a list of potential projects set forth in SMGWA’s recently adopted groundwater sustainability plan. The list includes inter-agency and regional projects that would have drought resiliency benefits. Additionally, the District has its own prioritized list of urgently needed infrastructure improvements. Some of these projects, such as the Fall Creek Fish Ladder, are part of the District’s ambitious Capital Improvement Plan. Some projects are being pursued in connection with the District’s proposed Conjunctive Use Plan, which, upon its adoption, would allow the District to operate its water systems more efficiently and put its Loch Lomond allotment to use, with benefits for water supply resiliency and fisheries. Other projects, such as the Five Mile Pipeline reconstruction and several potential water system consolidations, are part of the District’s ongoing recovery from the CZU wildfire emergency and effort to assist our neighbors who were badly impacted by the wildfire. The District is deeply committed to such projects and collaborating with its neighbors and other partners such as state and federal funding sources to achieve them. In light of the already extraordinary demands placed on District resources by these projects and other mission-critical priorities, the District is not in a position to invest in a County-wide integrated drought-resilience action plan. Our Water Account Is Overdrawn Published on May 24, 2022 130 Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury [This page intentionally left blank.] [Return to Table of Contents] 2021–2022 Consolidated Final Report with Responses 131 Santa Cruz Grand Jury Required response to Grand Jury report is due on August 22, 2022 Emma Western Wed, Aug 17, 2022 at 1:40 PM To: "grandjury@scgrandjury.org" Cc: Ron Duncan Hello, Attached is Soquel Creek Water District’s response to the Grand Jury report, titled Our Water Account Is Overdrawn. Please acknowledge receipt of this email. Thank you! Emma Western (she/her) | Executive Assistant/Board Clerk Soquel Creek Water District | 5180 Soquel Dr., Soquel CA 95073 | www.soquelcreekwater.org direct 831-475-8501 x126 | main 831-475-8500 P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. SqCWD Response to Grand Jury Report.pdf 265K 132 Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury The 2021–2022 Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury Requires the Board of Directors, Soquel Creek Water District to Respond by August 22, 2022 to the Findings and Recommendations listed below which were assigned to them in the report titled Our Water Account Is Overdrawn Beyond Conservation: Achieving Drought Resilience Responses are required from elected officials, elected agency or department heads, and elected boards, councils, and committees which are investigated by the Grand Jury. You are required to respond by the California Penal Code (PC) §933(c). Your response will be considered compliant under PC §933.05 if it contains an appropriate comment on all findings and recommendations which were assigned to you in this report. Please follow the instructions below when preparing your response. [Return to Table of Contents] 2021–2022 Consolidated Final Report with Responses 133 Instructions for Respondents Your assigned Findings and Recommendations are listed on the following pages with check boxes and an expandable space for summaries, timeframes, and explanations. Please follow these instructions, which paraphrase PC §933.05: 1. For the Findings, mark one of the following responses with an “X” and provide the required additional information: a. AGREE with the Finding, or b. PARTIALLY DISAGREE with the Finding – specify the portion of the Finding that is disputed and include an explanation of the reasons why, or c. DISAGREE with the Finding – provide an explanation of the reasons why. 2. For the Recommendations, mark one of the following actions with an “X” and provide the required additional information: a. HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED – provide a summary of the action taken, or b. HAS NOT YET BEEN IMPLEMENTED BUT WILL BE IN THE FUTURE – provide a timeframe or expected date for completion, or c. REQUIRES FURTHER ANALYSIS – provide an explanation, scope, and parameters of an analysis to be completed , or d. WILL NOT BE IMPLEMENTED – provide an explanation of why it is not warranted or not reasonable. 3. Please confirm the date on which you approved the assigned responses: We approved these responses in a regular public meeting as shown in our minutes dated August 16, 2022. 4. When 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
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R3Page 137Please confirm the date on which you approved the assigned responses: We approved these responses in a regular public meeting as shown in our minutes dated August 16, 2022.
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R4Page 137When 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