(/)

Court Rules in Favor of Pure Water SoquelProject

Posted on November 16th, 2019

For Immediate Release

November 16, 2019

Contact: Melanie Mow Schumacher, Special Projects-Communications Manager

Phone: 831-475-8501 x153

Email: melanies@soquelcreekwater.org (mailto:melanies@soquelcreekwater.org)

Court Rules in Favor of Pure Water Soquel Project

Judge’s Ruling Denies Challenge of Project’s EIR

Soquel, CA (November 16, 2019) – Yesterday, Superior Court Judge Timothy J. Schmal in Santa Cruz County

ruled in favor of the Soquel Creek Water District on all elements of a legal action brought against the District earlier

this year. The legal action alleged insufficiencies in the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Pure Water

Soquel Groundwater Replenishment and Seawater Intrusion Prevention Project. The District’s Board of Directors

certified the EIR and approved the project on December 18, 2018.

Judge Schmal wrote a well-reasoned 17-page point-by-point decision which denied the petitioner’s requested writ

of mandate (a court order to a government agency to correct the agency’s prior actions).

PRESENTATION - ITEM 4.0 - 11/19/19

“We are very happy that we can continue to move forward in our efforts to protect our groundwater supply from

seawater intrusion, providing a safe, reliable, drought resistant water supply for future generations.” said Dr. Tom

LaHue, President of the District’s Board of Directors. "The judge’s decision clearly showed that our environmental

impact report (EIR) was thorough, compliant with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and protective

of the environment."

The lawsuit challenged the District’s certification of the EIR and approval of the project under CEQA on a number

of points, some of which were procedural in nature – those being the District’s public noticing, the time limit for the

EIR public comment period, and notifying of appropriate agencies. The judge notes that the District was in fact

compliant in all those instances.

Among several others, the two primary challenges in the lawsuit centered on whether the District adequately

analyzed the project alternative of water transfers-only, and whether the District provided meaningful analysis of

impacts on water quality as a result of the project.

The court found that the District did in fact comply with the requirements of CEQA in conducting its alternatives

analysis, including water transfers-only, and that there was adequate analysis of groundwater quality with

conclusions on these issues supported by substantial evidence.

The judge found all other assertions made by the petitioner in the lawsuit similarly insufficient – in short, the judge

ruled that the District’s EIR and the certification/adoption process were compliant with CEQA.

About Soquel Creek Water DistrictThe Soquel Creek Water District is a nonprofit, local government agency that provides water resource

management within its service area to deliver a safe and reliable supply of high-quality water to meet present and

future needs in an environmentally sensitive and economically responsible way. The District’s website

is www.soquelcreekwater.org (http://www.soquelcreekwater.org).

###

Share This

News

Latest News (/news/latest-news)

Water Wisdom (/news/water-wisdom)

Press Releases (/news/press-releases)

PRESENTATION - ITEM 4.0 - 11/19/19

Monthly E-Blast (/news/monthly-e-blast)

What's On Tap Quarterly Newsletter (/news/whats-tap-quarterly-newsletter)

Transparency Center (/transparency-center)Awards and Certificates (/transparency-center/awards-and-certificates)

Board Accountability (/transparency-center/board-accountability)

Community Surveys (/transparency-center/community-surveys)

Finance and Budget (/transparency-center/finance-and-budget)

Grand Jury (/transparency-center/grand-jury)

Human Resources (/transparency-center/human-resources)

Public Records Act - Requests and List of Enterprise Systems (/transparency-center/public-records-act-

requests-and-list-enterprise-systems)

Schools (/schools)Grants for Schools (https://www.soquelcreekwater.org/conserving-water/water-wise-grants)

School Assemblies (/schools/school-assemblies)

School Programs (/schools/school-programs)

School Resources (/schools/school-resources)

Tours (/who-we-are/community-outreach#tours)

News (/news)Latest News (/news/latest-news)

Water Wisdom (/news/water-wisdom)

Press Releases (/news/press-releases)

PRESENTATION - ITEM 4.0 - 11/19/19

Staff Login (/user/login)

Monthly E-Blast (/news/monthly-e-blast)

What's On Tap Quarterly Newsletter (/news/whats-tap-quarterly-newsletter)

Work With Us (/work-us)Career Opportunities (/work-us/career-opportunities)

Projects Out to Bid (/capital-improvement-projects/current-projects-out-bid)

Requests for Qualifications and Proposals on Projects (https://www.soquelcreekwater.org/construction/rfps-

and-rfqs)

Documents (/documents)Forms (/documents/forms)

Reports (/documents/reports)

Publications (/documents/publications)

Board Meetings (https://www.soquelcreekwater.org/who-we-are/board-meetings-standing-committees)

Media Center (/documents/media-center)

Video Library (/video-library)

5180 Soquel Drive, Soquel, CA 95073 · P.O. Box 1550 Capitola, CA 95010 · phone 831.475.8500 · fax 831.475.4291 ·

custserv@soquelcreekwater.org (mailto:custserv@soquelcreekwater.org) · ©2014 Soquel Creek Water District

PRESENTATION - ITEM 4.0 - 11/19/19

State Water Board Approves Last of 13 Grants Totaling $367 Million for Groundwater Protection

Final project to benefit Santa Cruz County

November 19, 2019 Contact: Blair Robertson Blair.Robertson@Waterboards.ca.gov

SACRAMENTO – Seeking to clean up and prevent contamination of aquifers that supply millions of Californians with drinking water, the State Water Resources Control Board announced today that it has approved the last of 13 grants totaling $367 million awarded since July.

“This funding has filled a huge need to bolster groundwater cleanup efforts in numerous key areas,” said E. Joaquin Esquivel, chair of the State Water Board. “The projects implemented under this program will support the state’s water resiliency and sustainability efforts by encouraging protection, restoration, and utilization of valuable local water resources.”

The State Water Board today approved $86 million in funding for the Soquel Creek Water District’s Pure Water Soquel: Groundwater Replenishment and Seawater Intrusion Prevention Project. The funding includes $50 million in grants and a $36 million low interest loan.

The project is intended to address severe groundwater overdraft in the area and to combat seawater intrusion that has been detected in the underlying aquifer. The district serves a population of approximately 40,000 in the city of Capitola and surrounding unincorporated areas in Santa Cruz County.

The project is the last funded in the second round of the State Water Board’s Proposition 1 Groundwater Grant Program. This second wave of funding addresses the vital need to safeguard groundwater through a variety of approaches. With local matching funds, the value of the projects amounts to more than $720 million.

The second round of funding, awarded since July 2019, was divided among 13 projects in Los Angeles, Monterey, Stanislaus, Tulare, San Luis Obispo, Alameda, Ventura, Riverside and Santa Cruz counties. The projects include:

· construction of treatment systems to clean up groundwater tainted by industrial activities;

· technologies to prevent seawater intrusion into freshwater aquifers;

PRESENTATION - ITEM 4.0 - 11/19/19

· investigations to determine the most cost-effective way to remove contamination from aquifers; and

· destruction of old and obsolete wells that will stave off contamination that could migrate to drinking water sources.

Funding for the projects comes from the Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014, the voter-approved, $7.5 billion bond measure also known as Proposition 1.

The projects were selected through a rigorous evaluation process to determine if they meet the priorities established by Proposition 1. The process also concluded they have been deemed a high priority by relevant regulatory agencies, and looked at whether they are technically feasible, cost-effective, and meet requirements for providing matching local funding.

Recipients are generally required to fund 50 percent of the project costs from non-state sources, but the match requirement can be reduced for disadvantaged communities.

Following passage of Proposition 1, legislation provided $720 million from the bond measure for the Proposition 1 Groundwater Grant Program (Assembly Bill 1471, Chapter 10). The State Water Board adopted the amended Proposition 1 Groundwater Grant Program (GWGP) Guidelines for administering these funds in December 2017 (Resolution 2017-0075).

In keeping with the goals for this grant program, these projects will clean up or prevent the threat to local drinking water supplies and promote long-term solutions to ensure groundwater resources are sustainable.

Also, these projects are directly aligned with important statewide policies, including the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014, which addresses sustainable management of groundwater in over-drafted groundwater basins; and the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund established by the legislature and Governor Newsom in July 2019.

A list of Proposition 1 Groundwater Grant Program Round 2 awards can be found on the program webpage.

#

PRESENTATION - ITEM 4.0 - 11/19/19

PRESENTATION - ITEM 4.0 - 11/19/19

Options for Potential Groundwater-

Based Triggers for Future Water

Shortage Contingency Plans

Soquel Creek Water District Board of Directors Meeting

November 19, 2019 Agenda Item 6.2

PRESENTATION - ITEM 6.2 - 11/19/19

Option 1 : Observed Groundwater Levels

Relative to Protective Elevations

2

Based on average level of

seawater intrusion risk

PRESENTATION - ITEM 6.2 - 11/19/19

Option 1 Example: Associate Curtailment

Targets to Risk Levels

Percent Runs

Protective

Water Supply Shortage Stage

(for illustration only)

Curtailment

Level

99%+ 0: Baseline Always in Effect 0%

80-99% 1: Water Shortage Alert 5%

70-80% 2: Water Shortage Warning 15%

60-70% 3: Emergency Water Shortage 25%

50-60% 4: Severe Water Shortage

Emergency

35%

<50% 5: Critical Water Shortage

Emergency

50%

PRESENTATION - ITEM 6.2 - 11/19/19

Option 1 Example: Assign Curtailment Targets

to Groundwater Levels Based on Risk

4

50%0%0% 0%15%

35%

0%

0%

5%

PRESENTATION - ITEM 6.2 - 11/19/19

Option 1 Example: Trigger Stage Based on

Average Assigned Curtailment

5

50%0%0% 0%15%

25%

0%

0%

5%

Example Average Curtailment

~12% = Stage 2

PRESENTATION - ITEM 6.2 - 11/19/19

Option 2 : Achieve Interim Groundwater Level

Improvement

6

Define measurable goal to reduce seawater

intrusion risk prior to Pure Water Soquel

PRESENTATION - ITEM 6.2 - 11/19/19

Option 2 Example: Raise Groundwater Levels

where Risk is Highest

7

Raise groundwater

levels to measurable interim goals

PRESENTATION - ITEM 6.2 - 11/19/19

Option 2 : Establish Groundwater Pumping

Goals

8

Estimate level of curtailment needed to raise

groundwater levels to measurable interim goals

PRESENTATION - ITEM 6.2 - 11/19/19