Collaboratively Addressing issues of

Seawater Intrusion in the Salinas Valley

“There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.”

Niccolo Machiavelli

Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency

• Six Subbasins• 110 Miles Long• Joint Powers Authority• Eleven Member Board• Staffed by Contract

(Regional Government Services)• Three Part Time Staff • Admin on call

Seven Years a New Agency and-Six GSP’s

This is how we are doing it!

Built and Funded The Agency

Prop 26 Regulatory Fee-Operations And Admin Only

Completed Basin Boundary

Modification

Participated In Implementation Of First

Well Moratorium Associated With Seawater

Intrusion

Delivered An Inclusive, Transparent,

Collaborative Planning And Decision-making

Process

Used The Best Science

Available

Outcome: One Of Two

Approved GSP’s

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• Critically Over Drafted• Layered Aquifers• Multiple Jurisdictions• Two Other GSA’s

Key Understanding: Achieving Sustainability Is Not Possible In This Subbasin If We

Don’t First Address Seawater Intrusion

180/400 Pressure Area

Comparison of SWI in the 180ft and 400ft Aquifers

Deep Aquifer

Castroville SeawaterIntrusion Project

1989 Regional Treatment Plant For Primary And Secondary Treatment Of Wastewater

1998Salinas Valley Reclamation Plant Creates Tertiary Treatment Of Wastewater For Agricultural Irrigation Use

Supplemental Wells To Meet Irrigation Demand When Plant Is Not Operating

Distribution Pipeline In Zone 2b To Deliver The Recycled Water And Well Water For Irrigation

2010Salinas River Diversion Facility For Seasonal Diversion Of River Water To Supplement Recycled Water

2019Reclamation Ditch And Blanco Drain Diversion Facilities To Augment Wastewater

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CSIP Issues

• Underfunded from the Beginning• Value Engineered• Lack of Maintenance• Supplemental Well Failures• CSIP Managed by Two Different Water Agencies

• Monterey 1 Water – Production and Distribution• Monterey County Water Resources Agency –OPS, Infrastructure and Admin

• Difficult to Measure Effectiveness• Perceived to be Unfairly Funded

GSA-GSP Response

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All Projects Work Together – No One Project Is

Enough

All People and All Projects Must Align with Defined Need

CSIP Four Individual Projects

Identified

Optimize CSIPUpgrade M1W Plant For Winter FlowsMaximize CSIP Use Of Existing SRDF DiversionExpand CSIP Area

Develop Seawater Intrusion

Working Group(SWIG)

Convene All StakeholdersStakeholder Defined ProcessSupported By Robust Technical Advisory CommitteeConsolidate All Science Create Comprehensive Understanding

Seawater Extraction Barrier

• Designed to halt and reverse seawater intrusion• Relatively high cost, but a definitive fix• State of extracted water TBD• Optional injection barrier addressed

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This is Not Sustainability

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Convening the System

Speaking of Systems

Question:

Shouldn’t those of us who struggle with Seawater Intrusion be working together for better solutions?

(Convening our Own System for Leverage)

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