The Soquel Creek Water District has been working on a Community Action Plan to achieve water supply sustainability by 2040. The Community Action Plan focuses on: seawater intrusion and contamination at the coastline, meeting the state mandate of water basin sustainability by 2040, addressing stricter water quality standards, and future climate change impacts like sea level rise and groundwater recharge.
They have formulated a three-pronged approach to achieving their goals, which includes:
How can the use of recycled water, like in the project proposal for Pure Soquel, benefit the community?
They have formulated a three-pronged approach to achieving their goals, which includes:
- Water Conservation and Zero-Impact Development
- Pro-active Groundwater Management
- Securing Supplemental Water Supply
- This project involves recycling already-treated wastewater, purifying it through a multi-step process, and then replenishing the groundwater basin using recharge wells.
- Status: The project is currently undergoing environmental review and a draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is anticipated to be released in early 2018. Public outreach on project component locations, public perception, and water quality is on-going during project evaluation.
- Estimated cost: $60-70 million
- These projects would take treated winter river water (from Santa Cruz North Coast Water Supplies and potentially the San Lorenzo River) and deliver it to the District system which would allow the District to reduce groundwater pumping (also known as in-lieu).
- Status: A short-term pilot project is being developed to monitor the effects of blending surface water and groundwater.
- This project would involve purchasing water from Deep Water Desal, LLC (DWD), a private company currently evaluating the development of a desalination facility in Moss Landing.
- Status: The project is currently undergoing environmental review and a draft EIR is anticipated to be released in late 2017
- Capturing available storm water may provide some water to aid in recharging the groundwater basin.
- Status: The District is examining this option by exploring potential sites and technologies for stormwater recharge. The District is investigating geological factors, rainfall runoff patterns, and potential water quality concerns. Once potential locations are identified, the District will investigate what methods and technologies would be most appropriate to facilitate the clean-up of stormwater to recharge the aquifer.
How can the use of recycled water, like in the project proposal for Pure Soquel, benefit the community?
- “The use of recycled water is cost-effective, it really helps us to think locally. We are fortunate enough not to have to purchase water from far-away sources, like Orange County Water District. We can be sustainable by not importing water and using, then re-using the natural resources we have access to here.”
- “Through phone lines and online surveys we have reached out to the community and found that timeliness, water quality, and reliability are most important to our customers, when speaking about water supply projects.” During initial calls, 59% of people voiced support with no prior knowledge or background information for the Pure Soquel water project. SqCrWD has also hosted medical peer review panels to try and dispel the concerns of using recycled water. Currently the district will be conducting research for a revised Environmental Impact Report and the scoping meeting is open to the public and will be held on Wednesday, July 12, from 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm at Twin Lakes Church, Bldg 700 in Aptos, CA.
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