WSAC Annual Report 2016
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Our Water, Our Future<br />
<strong>2016</strong> ANNUAL REPORT
Dear Resident,<br />
Just over a year ago, the Santa Cruz City Council approved<br />
recommendations to secure the future of our community’s water<br />
supply. Created by residents who served on the Water Supply<br />
Advisory Committee (<strong>WSAC</strong>), the recommendations include<br />
increased conservation, consideration of water transfers and<br />
additional water storage, purified recycled water and desalination.<br />
The <strong>WSAC</strong> also encouraged regional collaboration.<br />
What has happened in the year since the Council approved the<br />
recommendations? The short answer is that a lot of progress has<br />
been made. This report provides an update of where we are with<br />
each recommendation to better secure your water future.<br />
Sincerely,<br />
Rosemary Menard, Water Director<br />
Santa Cruz Water Department<br />
2
Increased<br />
Conservation<br />
Did You Know?<br />
0%<br />
Even with projected growth,<br />
water use is expected to<br />
remain flat due to new<br />
plumbing and building codes.<br />
Though Santa Cruz is already one of the top water-saving cities in the state,<br />
the <strong>WSAC</strong> recommendations increase the levels of conservation even further.<br />
Recommendations include adding new programs, increasing rebates and<br />
managing summertime use more efficiently. In the past 12 months, we:<br />
• Completed an exhaustive Water<br />
Loss Control Study to see where we<br />
might be losing water through leaks<br />
in our distribution system.<br />
• Doubled our turf-removal rebate.<br />
• Doubled our high-efficiency<br />
clothes washer rebate for machines<br />
that are certified as Energy Star,<br />
Most Efficient.<br />
• Expanded our large-landscape<br />
water budget program and<br />
updated the City’s water-efficient<br />
landscape ordinance.<br />
• Implemented budget-based water<br />
rates for our irrigation accounts.<br />
• Completed the 2015 Urban Water<br />
Management Plan, which was<br />
adopted by City Council in August.<br />
3
Water<br />
Exchanges<br />
and Aquifer<br />
Storage &<br />
Recovery<br />
The <strong>WSAC</strong> recognized that conservation alone will not solve our water supply<br />
problem. <strong>WSAC</strong> members also learned that in normal rain years, a lot of river water<br />
flows into Monterey Bay simply because we have nowhere to store it. Building<br />
another reservoir is not feasible at this time. So the Committee zeroed in on<br />
storing water in local, depleted aquifers through water exchanges and/or aquifer<br />
storage and recovery.<br />
Water exchanges allow groundwater-dependent water districts, like Soquel Creek<br />
Water District, to rest and recharge their aquifers, using excess winter surface water<br />
from Santa Cruz. Soquel Creek Water District agreed to pilot a water exchange<br />
project after careful water-mixing studies are complete (groundwater and surface<br />
waters have different characteristics). Water exchanges between Santa Cruz and<br />
Soquel Creek Water District will likely be tested in the winter of 2017-2018.<br />
Did You Know?<br />
In-Lieu<br />
Recharge<br />
of aquifers provides water from<br />
another source in lieu of drawing<br />
water from an aquifer, so the<br />
aquifer can rest and recharge.<br />
4
Did You Know?<br />
Active<br />
Recharge<br />
of aquifers utilizes wells with<br />
screens at precise depths to inject<br />
water directly into the aquifer.<br />
The concept for aquifer storage and recovery, or ASR, is simple. Much like<br />
depositing money in a savings account, excess water is injected directly into<br />
a targeted aquifer where it can be withdrawn later – during a shortage of<br />
surface water.<br />
ASR has been used successfully in some places. However it has also failed in other<br />
places, and will take much local study before we will fully understand its potential.<br />
Storing and recovering water in an aquifer is a complex process that requires<br />
modeling and pilot testing to identify the ideal location for an ASR project.<br />
5
Recycled<br />
Water<br />
and Desal<br />
Did You Know?<br />
2:1<br />
Desalination uses approximately<br />
two gallons of seawater to produce<br />
one gallon of drinking water.<br />
Purified recycled water has been used in California for decades. It is currently<br />
used indirectly for things like landscape irrigation, crop irrigation, dust control,<br />
industrial cooling and aquifer recharge. The State is examining the feasibility of<br />
adopting regulations to use it directly for drinking water.<br />
What is the best use for purified recycled water in Santa Cruz? Will using purified<br />
recycled water help provide a secure water supply for the community? Will<br />
purified recycled water or desalination be needed in addition to water transfers<br />
and ASR to fully close the supply gap identified by the <strong>WSAC</strong>? These are a few of<br />
the questions that the Water Department began to study and analyze in <strong>2016</strong> in<br />
accordance with the <strong>WSAC</strong> recommendations. Desal remains a back-up plan if ASR<br />
and/or recycled water cannot meet our community’s needs.<br />
6
Next Steps<br />
Did You Know?<br />
64%<br />
Residents use 64% of the<br />
Santa Cruz Water Department<br />
water supply, businesses use<br />
19%, agriculture uses 8% and<br />
UCSC uses 7%.<br />
At its November 24, <strong>2016</strong>, meeting, the Santa Cruz City Council directed the<br />
City’s Water Commission to assume oversight of the implementation of the <strong>WSAC</strong><br />
recommendations and agreements. The Commission receives regular reports<br />
and presentations from Water Department staff on studies underway; they<br />
hear from leading experts on topics like water conservation, ASR and recycled<br />
water; and they receive quarterly progress reports on the status of each of the<br />
<strong>WSAC</strong> recommendations. When feasibility, cost and energy studies for each<br />
recommendation are completed, it will ultimately be the Water Commission that<br />
will make a recommendation to the City Council on the suite of water supply<br />
projects that will meet the City’s goal to improve the reliability of its water supply.<br />
Each month a summary of the Water Commission meetings and progress made on<br />
<strong>WSAC</strong> recommendations is sent out via an email newsletter. If you would like to<br />
receive the monthly email updates, please sign up at santacruzwatersupply.com.<br />
7
Upcoming Meetings<br />
The Water Commission meets on the first Monday<br />
of every month and the public is encouraged to<br />
attend. Meetings are at 7 pm and typically held in<br />
City Council Chambers at 809 Center Street. Visit<br />
cityofsantacruz.com/departments/water/city-watercommission<br />
to confirm the location and preview<br />
the agenda.<br />
A joint meeting of the Water Commission and the<br />
City Council will be held on March 14 to update<br />
the Council on progress made on the <strong>WSAC</strong><br />
recommendations. The meeting will be at 7 pm<br />
in City Council Chambers – 809 Center Street.<br />
212 Locust Street<br />
Santa Cruz, CA 95060<br />
PRSRT STD<br />
US POSTAGE<br />
PAID<br />
SANTA CRUZ, CA<br />
PERMIT NO. 11