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Primary Problem: Seawater Intrusion
The Mid-County Groundwater Basin is the District’s only source of water. For many years, groundwater levels in our area have been dropping and remain too low to protect against seawater intrusion. Despite extensive conservation efforts by customers, the Mid-County Groundwater Basin is in a state of overdraft because more water is being pumped out annually than is naturally recharged through rainfall. The groundwater basin is the SqCWD’s only source of water. The Soquel Creek Water District Board declared a Groundwater Emergency at their June 17, 2014 meeting with the passage of Resolution 14-22.
Overdraft of the groundwater basin is not sustainable and seawater intrusion at the coastline is present in the Aptos, Seascape, and La Selva Beach area. The state of California has identified our region as one of 21 basins in the state as critically overdrafted, with a mandate to bring the basin back into sustainability by 2040.
What does a healthy aquifer look like?
The ideal balance in a coastal water cycle, when it comes to groundwater, is when the amount of water pumped out of the basin is naturally replenished by rainfall, and groundwater levels can maintain a level that provides an active barrier to keep saltwater from coming in.
What is Seawater Intrusion?
Seawater intrusion is a condition whereby groundwater is withdrawn at a faster rate than it can be replenished by rainfall. When groundwater levels are too low, the result is seawater moving into the freshwater aquifers. This condition can be irreversible and can result in rendering portions or possibly all of the groundwater aquifer unusable.
Seawater/ freshwater interface mapping
View the results of the 3D mapping of the seawater and freshwater interface just offshore of Capitola, Aptos and La Selva Beach, CA. The depth of the study reached up to 200 meters below mean sea level. Seawater/freshwater mapping project for the Santa Cruz Mid-County Groundwater Agency was done in May 2017 by SkyTEM, Ramboll and iGIS. Data visualization in GeoScene 3D.
Images of Seawater Intrusion Occurrence within the Monterey Bay Region
Santa Cruz Mid-County
Pajaro Valley
Monterey County
Resources
- Santa Cruz Mid-County Groundwater Agency Website: www.midcountygroundwater.org
- Santa Cruz Mid-County Groundwater Agency's Groundwater Sustainability Plan (November 2019) and Water Year 2019 Annual Report
- 2-page fact sheet from the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) entitled "Just the Facts - Groundwater in California" (May 2017)
- Soquel Creek Water District's Groundwater Emergency Declaration: Resolution 14-22
- Department of Water Resources Designation of Basin as Critical Overdraft: Press Release and Final List of Critically Overdrafted Basins
- Groundwater Management Plan Annual Review and Report, Water Year 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010