agenda city of watsonville city council/redevelopment agency meeting

City Water Conservation Program. The Urban Water Management Planning Act requires
that all water agencies implement a water conservation program. This program must address
fourteen different types of water conservation, known as Demand Management Measures
(DMMs). The City has implemented each of the DMMs and is in full compliance with the
requirements of the Act.
The City has made a good faith effort to promote water conservation in a variety of ways
including public education, the use of local print and electronic English and Spanish language
media, articles in the City’s newsletter, and inserts in the City utility bills. The City evaluates its
programs on an ongoing basis and has been proactive in implementing changes and
improving the effectiveness of its water conservation program. The Demand Management
Measures (DMMs) are listed below, and are described in more detail in the attached UWMP:
• Water survey programs for single-family and multifamily residential customers;
• Residential plumbing retrofit
• System water audits, leak detection, and repair
• Metering with commodity rates for all new connections and retrofit of existing
connections
• Large landscape conservation programs and incentives
• High-efficiency washing machine rebate program
• Public information programs
• School education programs
• Conservation programs for commercial, industrial, and institutional accounts
• Wholesale agency programs
• Conservation pricing
• Water conservation coordinator
• Water waste prohibition
• Residential ultra-low flush toilet replacement program
Pajaro Valley Groundwater Basin Overdraft. Seawater intrusion in the Pajaro Basin, a
result of groundwater overdraft, was first documented in 1953. Since then, annual water use
has generally increased, and the basin continues to be in a state of overdraft. The Pajaro
Valley groundwater basin is severely overdrafted, causing groundwater elevations to drop
below sea level and leading to seawater intrusion, causing chloride contamination of
groundwater wells up to three miles inland. Seawater intrusion is an immediate and a direct
threat to the Pajaro Valley economy. The elevated chloride concentrations make the
groundwater unusable for irrigation of the high value, salt sensitive crops in coastal region of
the Pajaro Valley. Lost agricultural production has an estimated annual value of $372 million
and would result in the loss of approximately 11,530 jobs.
City Efforts to Address Groundwater Overdraft. The City has committed to reducing its use
of groundwater to the maximum extent possible over the next 30 years, with a goal of no net
increase in groundwater use during that period. The City hopes to achieve this goal by
continuing to increase the production of recycled water, expand its water conservation efforts,
and by increasing the use of surface water.
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