Santa Cruz County Water Issues

Santa Cruz Sentinel Editorial, June 18, 1998, page A-11

PV water an issue that won't go away

EMERGENCY: A county supervisor's proposed emergency ordinance wasn't a bad idea.

Supervisor' Jeff Almquist did what seemed impossible: uniting all sides in the Pajaro Valley water dispute.
Unfortunately for Almquist, they were all united against him. Almquist had asked his fellow supervisors to declare a groundwater emergency in the Pajaro Valley in an attempt to put a stop to overpumping.

He did so in the wake of a June 2 ballot measure which forbids pursuing a connection with a California Water Project pipeline.
Watsonville farmers, the United Farmworkers, water agency officials and just about everyone else protested."Give us time," they all said to supervisors.
Almquist, who represents Scotts Valley and San Lorenzo Valley, was politely told not to meddle.

Perhaps the worst that can be said about Almquist is that his timing was off. But he's absolutely right to be concerned. It's fine for people to ask for more time, but Almquist is hard to argue with when he says, "The fact is that nobody has done anything, except talk, for 40 years. It's that putting-off attitude that has caused the problem."

And the problem is serious. Underground sources of water are being depleted, and the situation grows graver each year.. Scientists say freshwater supplies are threatened by seawater intrusion. At risk, of course, is Pajaro Valley's agriculture industry, based in large part on a strawberry crop that depends on an abundant water supply.

Maybe Almquist moved too quickly. Maybe he could have enlisted at least some support in the Pajaro Valley before proposing action. But his concern is appropriate, and it would be a shame if people ignore the reality behind his proposal: that the area's water supply is in danger.

The problem of water extends beyond the Pajaro Valey. Because of the area's reliance on agriculture, the shortage is perhaps most severe, but residents of all areas of Santa Cruz should be concerned about water.

North from Watsonville, the Soquel Creek Water District is also dealing with overpumping of its groundwater. And in the Santa Cruz area, the city relies on surface water that has been ample during the wet years, but is obviously susceptible to drought.

During the recent Watsonville election campaign, opponents of imported water argued that an ample supply would be available through conservation and through construction of small dams. We doubt that further conservation will make much of a difference, and we really doubt the local poitical wherewithal to build even small dams.

Throughout Santa Cruz County, elected officials and their constituents both have pretended that somehow there will just be enough water for everyone without constructing any more dams. Plans to build dams have been scrapped, and we see nothing on the horizon that would adequately address the water needs of the future.

Almquist is right about the Pajaro Valley situation. But that area is just part of the story: water should be a concern, and no one is really addressing the problem.

REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
County of Santa Cruz
701 Ocean Street
Santa Cruz, California, 95060

REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION Re: SETTING PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER DECLARATION OF GROUNDWATER EMERGENCY IN SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, June 16, 1998 Board of Supervisor's Meeting

Dear Members of the Board,

On June 16, you considered the matter of the setting of a public hearing on declaration of a water emergency, though only in the Pajaro district. This was in response to Supervisor Almquist's recommendation contained in his June 12th letter. By my letter to you of June 15, I recommended to you that a county-wide water emergency instead appropriately should be considered, in addition to other measures. Supervisors Wormhoudt, Symons, and Belgard joined in opposition to taking any action.

On behalf of my organization and the people of this community, I request that you reconsider your action on this matter. The setting of a public hearing to consider declaration of a groundwater emergency, according to county codes, must be accomplished in the present circumstances where there has been a prima facie demonstration of groundwater overdraft exceeding the safe yield, as has been presented to and accepted by you, as you did in your June 9 actions relative to the county water report.

What you choose to do as a result of the public hearing is your business. However, the fact that the public hearing occurs to give opportunity to the people of this community to hear and to air all their facts and opinions about this important matter is our business. That date in September would still work fine for me.

Thank you for your reconsideration of this matter.

Respectfully,

Douglas Deitch

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
County Of Santa Cruz
701 Ocean Street
Santa Cruz, California, 95060

Re: SETTING PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER DECLARATION OF GROUNDWATER EMERGENCY IN SANTA CRUZ COUNTY

Dear Members of the Board,

By letter to you of June 12, 1998, Supervisor Almquist has recommended to you that a public hearing be set to consider adoption of a declaration of a groundwater emergency in the jurisdiction of the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency and other measures. I recommend to you that a more appropriate and prudent course of action is to set a public hearing for declaration of a groundwater emergency covering the entire county.

All of Supervisor Almquist's comments contained in his letter relative to Pajaro apply as well on a county-wide basis. This is truly a county-wide crisis requiring a coordinated county, and actually, regional response and solution. All of our water resources are under enormous stress and overuse, no plan or consensus on any solution has been established anywhere, and the problem seems to be getting worse on an exponential basis.

On June 9, based on the "Water Resources Management" report presented and accepted that day, I recommended (on behalf of my organization and the people of this community) that you declare a county-wide water emergency. Additionally, I recommended that you immediately initiate a regionally-coordinated strategic water use and management effort with Monterey and San Benito Counties, commence an all-inclusive and regionally-wide well metering/monitoring program for all existent and new wells, and immediately begin the process leading to a water surcharge for all water users to provide the needed substantial revenues which will be required for the costly water projects which we must necessarily and expeditiously undertake on a regional level. I reiterate those recommendations to you now.

The most recent evaluation of Pajaro's situation by Bookman/ Edmondsen and USGS just completed in May indicate the problem is even worse than reported in your county report. The full extent of Soquel's significant overdraft problem in unknown still, and no proposed solutions are on the table. The City of Santa Cruz, though not dependent on wells, has demand needs and no current source.

Please comply with your statutory mandate cited by Supervisor Almquist and set a public hearing to consider declaration of a groundwater emergency in Santa Cruz County.

Respectfully,

Douglas Deitch

Pogonip Foundation, Inc.