Title
Consider receiving the Deep Aquifers Management Recommendations Memorandum.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Monterey County Water Resources Agency Board of Directors:
Receive the Deep Aquifers Management Recommendations Memorandum.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
The Deep Aquifers Management Recommendations Memorandum (“Memo,” Attachment 1) was developed collaboratively by the Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency (“SVBGSA”), Monterey County Water Resources Agency (“MCWRA”), County of Monterey, and Marina Coast Water District Groundwater Sustainability Agency (“MCWDGSA”) to provide a framework for protecting and sustainably managing the Deep Aquifers as a groundwater resource. The Memo builds upon the 2024 Deep Aquifers Study (“Study”) and subsequent groundwater sustainability evaluations and data collection efforts.
In portions of the Salinas Valley, the Deep Aquifers are an increasingly important source of groundwater for agricultural, municipal, industrial, and domestic uses. Historically considered a strategic reserve, these deeper groundwater formations are now experiencing increased extraction as seawater intrusion and declining water quality affect shallower overlying aquifers.
The Study found that groundwater levels in the Deep Aquifers have declined over the past two decades, resulting in groundwater elevations below those of overlying aquifers in many locations. This has resulted in a reversal of historical hydraulic gradients that increases the risk of both lateral seawater intrusion from the coast and downward migration of degraded groundwater from the 180-Foot and 400-Foot Aquifers. The Study also documented ongoing groundwater storage losses, estimated at approximately 9,000 to 9,600 acre-feet annually, and identified areas of concentrated pumping near Castroville, west of Salinas, and within the Seaside region.
Recent Groundwater Sustainability Plan (“GSP”) evaluations completed since the Study was published fu...
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