Integrated Resource Plan

Integrated Resources Plan (IRP) 2006, prepared by Environmental Science Associates, was adopted on January 31, 2006. The final document is available as a PDF download on the left under Integrated Resources Plan.

IRP Summary

On November 15, 2005, the Board decided to put completion of the Conjunctive Use Water Supply Alternatives Program-Level Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on hold and proceed with preparing an updated Integrated Resources Plan.

The Integrated Resources Plan (IRP) represents the current knowledge and understanding about the District’s water supply resources, projected future water demand and supplies, and the policies and projects that have been developed to meet the objectives of assuring a safe and reliable water supply for District customers while preventing the degradation of local groundwater and surface water resources. 

The IRP preferred alternative has emerged as a result of the most recent information available and is intended as a roadmap to guide future efforts. The IRP preferred alternative is a flexible plan that allows individual components to be implemented, as necessary, based on changing demand and water supply conditions. The most significant piece of the preferred alternative is the recommendation to pursue a regional seawater desalination project with the City of Santa Cruz as the best available alternative to provide a sufficient and reliable supplemental water supply that can be used in conjunction with groundwater resources. This project would be the cornerstone to enable the District to significantly reduce pumping and achieve groundwater management objectives of restoring and protecting the Soquel-Aptos Groundwater Basin. For information regarding the proposed desalination project, go to www.scwd2desal.org.

The Preliminary Draft 2006 Integrated Resources Plan was first presented to the Board of Directors for review and comment on January 17, 2006. That document has been available for public review since Friday, January 13, 2006. Letters were sent to the District’s list of potentially interested parties and the local media giving notice of the document and the scheduled public hearing.

The 2006 IRP is available as a PDF download on the left under Integrated Resources Plan.