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1999 - Water Resources And Land Use Change In Salinas Valley, Watershed Institute Report No. Wi-1999-01

Miscellaneous Monterey and San Luis Obispo County Documents and Reports

The 1999 report prepared by Fred Watson, Lars Pierce, Mel Mulitsch, Wendi Newman, Adrian Rocha, Mark Fain and Jodiah Nelson of the Watershed Institute, describes the progress made toward the use of computer modeling to provide both understanding and predictive capability. The Salinas River watershed of over 11,000 square kilometers supports large areas of intensive agriculture production, including large areas of intensive crop production, and extensive cattle ranches supporting annual grasslands. Mainly a dry climate with limited surface water resources, the valley has a finite groundwater system. Agriculture accounts for 93.5% of the groundwater extractions that exceed recharge by 40,000-50,000 …