12 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY August 15-21, 2024 www.montereycountynow.com When the state Sustainable Groundwater Management Act was signed into law in 2014, Monterey County already had a leg up, at least from a data perspective: Since 1995, the Monterey County Water Resources Agency has been tracking groundwater extraction amounts and groundwater levels throughout most the Salinas Valley (called the GEMS program), giving those working to create state-mandated groundwater sustainability plans locally information to base their plans on. But as the Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency has been creating its plans throughout the Salinas Valley sub-basins, it’s run up against a problem: Some areas the state wants data on are outside the area of MCWRA’s GEMS program, so SVBGSA was stuck in a pickle—the data simply did not exist. Enter new leadership—in 2023, Piret Harmon and Ara Azhderian became general managers of SVBGSA and MCWRA, respectively, and decided to deepen the collaboration between the agencies to leverage MCWRA’s in-house expertise. Harmon’s agency has been awarded three grants totaling more than $20 million to build up to 20 monitoring wells where gaps in the data exist. Four have so far been built and 10 are being planned. SVBGSA will then convey ownership of the wells to MCWRA. Because the GEMS program was authorized under three ordinances in the 1990s, there’s some bureaucratic wrangling to do: The plan is to repeal those ordinances and replace them with a single ordinance, which the MCWRA board will consider Aug. 19. The hope is that MCWRA staff could begin monitoring Nov. 1, the start of MCWRA’s monitoring cycle. The GSA is also leading two feasibility studies, with support from MCWRA, for projects that could be key to sustainability in the lower Salinas Valley, where seawater intrusion remains a threat to water supplies as excessive pumping draws seawater inland, underground, and into the aquifers. One is to create a “barrier” of freshwater injected in the ground that would in theory act like a wall, keeping seawater at bay. Harmon says the sourcewater for that project would likely be treated brackish water. The other study is looking at the feasibility of an aquifer storage and recovery project in the lower valley similar to Monterey Peninsula Water Management District’s project in the Seaside Basin—essentially, an underground reservoir. “In some ways we don’t have a water supply problem, we have a water timing problem,” Azhderian says. “How do we use excess water when it’s available?” It’s not as simple as pumping water out of the Salinas River in the wet winter then injecting it into the ground— the law requires that the water be treated first, adding cost. But some action will be needed. “If we don’t do anything, none of us are going to have freshwater 50 years from now,” Harmon says. “[Seawater is] going to march to Salinas—we have to do something.” Staying Fresh Two public agencies in the Salinas Valley are partnering to make groundwater sustainable. By David Schmalz SVBGSA is studying the feasibility of diverting excess winter flows from the Salinas River and injecting the water into the ground for storage. NEWS “If we don’t do anything, none of us are going to have water.” DANIEL DREIFUSS Open Mon-Fri 8:30am–5pm 384 Olympia Ave, Seaside (831) 583-9820 HansAutoRepair.com Seaside's first certified Green business! "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Save the planet!" {Bruce and Russell say: Bruce and Russell say: Fix that RUFF Ride and enjoy the Dog Days of Summer 146 12TH STREET • PACIFIC GROVE AdvAnce tickets AvAilAble At www.celticsociety.org $30 AdvAnce / $35 door kids’ prices AvAilAble Celtic Society discounts recognized Call or text 831-224-3819 for more info. www.stmarysbythesea.org John and Tyler Weed with Boston’s own multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Adam Hendey for an evening of traditional tunes, contemporary compositions, and timeless song. WED. AUG. 21 • 7PM Doors open at 6:30pm
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