Title
Consider receiving a report on the methodology for prioritizing wells for destruction under the Protection of Domestic Drinking Water Supplies for the Lower Salinas Valley project.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Monterey County Water Resources Agency Board of Directors:
Receive a report on the methodology for prioritizing wells for destruction under the Protection of Domestic Drinking Water Supplies for the Lower Salinas Valley project.
SUMMARY:
At the March 15, 2021, Board of Directors meeting, Staff was asked to return with an update on the methodology for prioritizing wells that will be destroyed as part of the Protection of Domestic Drinking Water Supplies for the Lower Salinas Valley project ("Project").
There are three primary components to determining the order in which wells will be destroyed as part of the Project: well location, well priority, and well owner permission. MCWRA is considering well location and well priority on parallel tracks, while concurrently moving through the notification and appeal process that is required by Ordinance No. 3790 for all wells in Zone 2B, regardless of priority. Obtaining well owner permission to enter the property is the final component that must be addressed before well destruction work begins. Ultimately, the order in which wells are destroyed will consider destruction priority, ability to locate and identify the well, and responsiveness of the well owner.
DISCUSSION:
Well Location
At the onset of the Project, MCWRA mapped all available Global Positioning System (GPS) data from the Water Resources Agency Information Management System (WRAIMS) for wells that were identified in the Project grant application.
In September 2020, MCWRA conducted a field reconnaissance effort to ground truth the GPS location data associated with each well, confirm the location and identity of each well, and document current conditions at each site. Confirmation of a well's identity relies on multiple pi...
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