agenda city of watsonville city council/redevelopment agency meeting

• Recycled Water. The City has played a key role in addressing groundwater overdraft in
the Pajaro Valley by taking the lead in designing, permitting, constructing, and operating
the Recycled Water Facility, in coordination with the PVWMA. The City and PVWMA will
continue to find ways to increase the utilization of our recycled water.
• Water Conservation. Over the last 10 years, the population of the City’s water service
area has increased by approximately 9500 residents. However, during that same time
period, water use has decreased slightly. Residents and businesses are learning to
conserve water, and the City will continue to educate our customers and provide
incentives to conserve water.
• The Corralitos Creek Water Supply and Fisheries Enhancement Project. Corralitos
Creek provides about 15% of Watsonville’s drinking water. The proposed project would
improve the long-term reliability and productivity of the water supply from Corralitos
Creek. Currently, the City can only utilize water from the creek in the summer months,
when the water runs clear. Once rains begin, the creek water becomes too silt-laden to
be treated by the existing plant, and it must be shut down for the winter. A membrane
filter plant would allow the City to treat water during the winter months, when water is far
more plentiful, and would allow for increased water production from the facility.
The Corralitos Creek provides critical habitat to the South-Central California Coast
steelhead, a federally endangered species. Staff has worked closely with the National
Marine Fisheries Service to determine how to best improve the habitat for the
steelhead. It turns out that more water is needed in the creek during the dry summer
months to enhance conditions for juvenile steelhead. The project would allow the City to
reduce the amount of water removed from the creek for water supply in the summer
months, allowing more water to remain in the creek for the fisheries. The majority of the
water production would then be shifted to the winter months, and would help reduce
groundwater overdraft by increasing the total water supply available from the creeks.
The City was recently awarded a grant of $1 million for construction of a new filter plant
by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The City hopes to begin construction of the new
facility within the next year.
Coordination with the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency. The Pajaro Valley Water
Management Agency (PVWMA) is a state-chartered water management district formed to
manage existing and supplemental water supplies. The Agency’s primary goals are to reduce
groundwater overdraft and to provide and ensure sufficient water supplies for present and
anticipated needs within the Pajaro Valley.
PVWMA Projects. PVWMA has completed a number of important projects to help reduce
overdraft, retard seawater intrusion and protect water quality within the basin. PVWMA has
constructed the Harkins Slough Recharge Project and the Coastal Distribution System (CDS)
Project, which is used to distribute water from the Recycled Water Facility. At full operations,
the Recycled Water, Harkins Slough blend water, and additional groundwater blend supplies
will allow the distribution of up to 7,150 acre-feet per year (AFY) to off-set groundwater
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