Education Commons^™

2003 - Geohydrologic Framework Of Recharge And Seawater Intrusion In The Pajaro Valley, Santa Cruz And Monterey Counties, California

Miscellaneous Monterey and San Luis Obispo County Documents and Reports

The Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency (PVWMA) must deal with issues of both water supply and water quality. Managing water resources for agricultural and municipal users requires maintaining a reliable water supply to meet growing demands while preventing ground-water overdraft and the related degradation of water quality. Important regional water-quality concerns include increased nitrate concentrations and seawater intrusion. To protect the quantity and quality of the ground-water supplies, the PVWMA has implemented a plan to prevent further seawater intrusion. In order to evaluate how these activities can be conducted most effectively, it is necessary to improve the understanding of the …

2014 - State Of The Salinas River Groundwater Basin Report, Executive Summary

Miscellaneous Monterey and San Luis Obispo County Documents and Reports

An examination of the state of the Salinas River Groundwater Basin (Basin) was conducted in the last half of 2014 as part of the larger Basin Investigation. This Executive Summary of the State of the Basin Report addresses the ramifications of prolonged drought by considering likely changes in groundwater head elevations, groundwater storage, and seawater intrusion in the event that the current drought continues. In addition, some steps are presented that could be taken to help alleviate the consequences of further depleting groundwater storage.

2015 - Basin Study Workshop - State Of The Salinas River Groundwater Basin Report

Miscellaneous Monterey and San Luis Obispo County Documents and Reports

The Salinas River Groundwater Basin report provided a snapshot of the current conditions within Zone 2C. The report also addressed the ramifications of prolonged drought by considering potential changes in:

• groundwater storage,
• groundwater head elevations, and
• seawater intrusion

The report provided technical options that could help alleviate the consequences of continued drought conditions

1998 - Salinas Valley Water (Preliminary Analysis Of) The Cause And Cost Of Seawater Intrusion

Miscellaneous Monterey and San Luis Obispo County Documents and Reports

An analysis of the historical cause of seawater intrusion in the Pressure Area of Monterey County. An annual overdraft of groundwater resources near the coast coupled with a seasonal cycle of over pumping created a reversal in the groundwater gradient and associated cones of depression. "Marine intrusion has occurred in the 180-foot aquifer in recent years as a result of overdrafts." (Bulletin 52, 1946, p.27). The only overdrafts on groundwater in the Salinas Valley were in the East Side and Pressure Areas. "There was no shortage of groundwater in the remainder of the basin and no threat of deficiency under …

2014 - Quarternary Geologic Map Of North-Central Salinas River Valley And Arroyo Seco

Miscellaneous Monterey and San Luis Obispo County Documents and Reports

The new mapping provides a detailed stratigraphic history of incision and deposition from the early Pleistocene to the present. Infiltration from the Salinas River and its tributaries is the source of irrigation water in this agricultural region. Irrigation water is pumped from the aquifers at depths of about 55 and 120 m. Area has become intruded by seawater, especially between cities of Castroville and Salinas.

2004 - Final Report, Hydrostratigraphic Analysis Of The Northern Salinas Valley

Miscellaneous Monterey and San Luis Obispo County Documents and Reports

The Monterey County Water Resources Agency (Agency) is responsible for the management and planning of water resources within Monterey County The agency uses a network of wells to monitor groundwater conditions in the Salinas Valley ground water basin (Figure 1). The progressive advancement of the seawater intrusion front into groundwater zones and the understanding of the northern Salinas ground water basin hydrogeology have been documented by the Agency since the 1950s. Only since the late 1990s was there sufficient well logs, geophysical, and lithological data to support a three-dimensional (3-D) study of the inter-related ancestral fluvial and alluvial-fan depositional environments …

2013, August 7 – California State Water Resources Control Board Order Wr 2013-0030-Exec And June 2013 Settlement Agreement With Monterey County Water Resources Agency

Miscellaneous Monterey and San Luis Obispo County Documents and Reports

Monterey County Water Resources Agency (formerly Monterey County Flood Control and Water Conservation District) submitted Application 13225 and 13226 (combined into Permit 11043) in response to problems of seawater intrusion in the Salinas Valley Groundwater Basin examined by California Department of Public Works in Bulletin 52 published in 1946. The express intent of the application was to implement the solutions outlined in Bulletin 52 to combat sweater intrusion by diverting 400 cubic feet water per second from Salinas River for municipal and agricultural uses, not to exceed 168,538 acre-feet per year.. Phase I was successfully implemented in 2010. Phase II …

2015 - Salinas River Watershed Area Salt Modeling Assessment Prepared For California Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board And The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region Ix

Miscellaneous Monterey and San Luis Obispo County Documents and Reports

A November 2015 report prepared by Tetra Tech for California Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX. The purpose was for the informed development of salt-related TMDLs by the CCRWQCB and a salt and nutrient management plan for the Salinas Valley aquifers. Three reaches reported 2010 303(d) listings for salt-related impairments in these watersheds including impairments due to chloride, sodium, electrical conductivity, and total dissolved solids – Lower Salinas River, Santa Rita Creek, and Alisal Creek. This report provides data analysis and a literature review (Sections 1 through 5), development of a …

2015 – Project Justification – Addressing An Urgent Water Supply Need For A Disadvantaged Community In The Greater Monterey County Irwm Region

Miscellaneous Monterey and San Luis Obispo County Documents and Reports

One hundred percent of Castroville’s water supply comes from the 400-foot aquifer of the Pressure sub-basin of the Salinas Valley Groundwater Basin. Groundwater levels in the aquifer dropped more than 100 feet below the seal level as of July 2015 at static conditions. Water levels dropped to more than 190 feet below the mean sea level during operation of the water well. The dramatic drop combined with the close proximity of the Pacific Ocean (less than 4 miles) and to existing seawater intrusion (less than ¼ mile) raised significant alarm that the existing water supply system to Castroville was imminently …

2013, November 19 - Protective Elevations To Control Sea Water Intrusion In The Salinas Valley, Geoscience For Mcwra

Miscellaneous Monterey and San Luis Obispo County Documents and Reports

A report prepared in support of preventing revocation of Permit 1043 (State of California Division of Water Rights Permit for Diversion of Use of Water – Amended Permit 11043 dated 110-Jul-49) that allows for appropriation of water from the Salinas River in Monterey County California not to exceed 400 cfs with annual maximum diversion not to exceed 168,538 acre feet per year. The report addresses the potential beneficial uses of diverting water to help increase groundwater levels in the Pressure and East Side Subareas that would in turn help to control seawater intrusion.

1999 - Salinas River Watershed Management Action Plan, Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board

Miscellaneous Monterey and San Luis Obispo County Documents and Reports

To more effectively protect and improve water resources, the Action Plan attempts to develop local solutions to local problems. Many significant identified water quality impacts in the Salinas River Watershed, such as erosion and sedimentation, nitrates in the groundwater and surface water, and older, discontinued pesticides in sediments and animal tissues, are primarily associated with nonpoint pollution sources. Also, widespread groundwater pumping contributes significantly to seawater intrusion into the coastal aquifers. The Action Plan approach includes: 1. devoting additional Regional Board resources to watershed activities, 2. increasing the Regional Board presence by developing partnerships with landowners, local governments, resource agencies …

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 …

2015, Aug. 20 - Groundwater Recharge On East Side Soils Of The Salinas Valley

Miscellaneous Monterey and San Luis Obispo County Documents and Reports

Discussion of the historically low groundwater levels in the Salinas Valley, noting that the shallower wells have become unreliable. As the groundwater levels drop below sea level, the seawater intrusion in the coastal aquifers will worsen. Because of the fast-declining groundwater levels on the east side of the Salinas Valley, the potential for seawater moving inland increases. Enhancing recharge in these areas would be beneficial in reducing seawater intrusion while lowering flood risk and erosion damage. The article reviews potential strategies to increase infiltration of rainwater during winter storms thereby recharging the underlying aquifer.