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:

• Water Conservation and Zero-Impact Development
• Pro-active Groundwater Management
• Securing Supplemental Water Supply

Finding new water sources is a challenging task, but the Soquel Creek Water District has come up with some creative solutions. Currently these new water sources include:1. Pure Water Soquel – Water Reuse

• 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

2. River Water Transfer/Purchase

• 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.

3. Desalination

• 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

4. Capturing Storm Water

• 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.

In an informational meeting between Soquel Creek Water District and the Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce, Rebecca Gold Rubin, the Public Outreach Coordinator and Melanie Mow Schumacher, the Associate Manager for Special Projects offered some insight into the public opinion on these projects and helped answer some questions.
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.”

How has the Soquel Creek Water District included the opinions and concerns of the community into the decision-making process?

• “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.

For more information on the Community Action Plan and all ongoing projects visit the Soquel Creek Water District Open House on July 20th, at the district headquarters from 4:30-7:00pm. Or visit them online at: http://www.soquelcreekwater.org/cwp
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• In response to severe storm induced infrastructure damage to roads and water supply lines throughout January and February of 2017, The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors initially declared a local state of emergency on February 7th, 2017.
• Due to continuous rainfall and resulting rain damage late into February, the County has responded by adopting a resolution proposing that this local state of emergency be continued.
• This is an essential procedural step necessary to recovering from the serious damage inflicted by local storms, as the approval of this resolution will enable additional State and Federal funding to be given to the county, as Santa Cruz County suffered some of the most extensive storm damage in all of California. 

The information in this write up is based in a Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors Council Agenda Item set forth on February 28th, 2017. For details and more information please see the following Board of Supervisors Agenda Item.

• As of January 24th, 2017 the Santa Cruz City Council has declared that the issue of water quality at Cowell Beach, one of Santa Cruz’s most iconic beaches and surf spots near the Municipal Wharf, to be a top priority of major significance.
  
• The Council has voted to re-establish the Cowell Beach Water Quality Working Group that was initially authorized in September of 2014 to continue its work studying and exploring Cowell’s water quality issues, and sources of contaminants.
• The City Council has authorized a budget adjustment of $30,000 to assist the Water Quality Working Group by providing funding necessary for infrastructure improvements, identification and repair of pollutant sources, as well as scientific research and review.

For details and more information please see the following City Council Agenda.