Difference between revisions of "CalAm Use of Carmel River Groundwater Basin"
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A recent adjudication decision in 2008 limited the amount of water to be taken out of the Carmel River to 11,285 and out of the Seaside Basin to 3,504 AF/year<ref name="adjudication">[http://www.waterrights.ca.gov/Hearings/docs/caw/exhibits/mpwmd_df5.pdf| Monterey Court Adjudication Decision] </ref>. | A recent adjudication decision in 2008 limited the amount of water to be taken out of the Carmel River to 11,285 and out of the Seaside Basin to 3,504 AF/year<ref name="adjudication">[http://www.waterrights.ca.gov/Hearings/docs/caw/exhibits/mpwmd_df5.pdf| Monterey Court Adjudication Decision] </ref>. | ||
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| + | Many are concerned about overdrafting the Carmel River because it is home to a large Steelhead population. Steelhead in the South-Central California region are a federally threatened species, and are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act. | ||
== Stakeholders == | == Stakeholders == | ||
Revision as of 23:59, 3 February 2010
Contents
NOTE to rest of group from David
Use this format for references it will make life MUCH easier for us
<ref>RefName RefLink </ref>
For example if I am going to be using a paper called awesome paper at www.awesomepaper.com and reference it more than once I would write this for the first reference is...
<ref name="Awesome"> Awesome Paper www.awesomepaper.com </ref>
The reference will pop up automatically in the reference section.
Notice how I added a name="whatever" in the first reference tag, this makes it easier for me to cite this same reference again
So now anytime I want to use that reference again all I have to write is...
<ref name="Awesome"/>
and it will refer the reader back to the same reference without adding it to the list again.
A watershed-related issue examined by the ENVS 560/L Watershed Systems class at CSUMB.
Summary
...a few sentences...
Location
...Name the smallest watershed (or other applicable region) within which the issue occurs...
Resource/s at stake
The resource of concern in this watershed-related issue is the water captured by the Carmel Watershed. The surface water supplies were originally thought to be a separate resource from the groundwater, however in 1995 the SWRCB ruled that the groundwater wells were subject to SWRCB jurisdiction [1].
Another important resource is the Seaside groundwater basin. This basin is the only other water source CalAm is using to supply the Monterey Peninsula[1]. It has been determined that this basin has a safe yield of 3,000 AF/year, but is being drafted at a rate of 5,600 AF/year[2].
A recent adjudication decision in 2008 limited the amount of water to be taken out of the Carmel River to 11,285 and out of the Seaside Basin to 3,504 AF/year[3].
Many are concerned about overdrafting the Carmel River because it is home to a large Steelhead population. Steelhead in the South-Central California region are a federally threatened species, and are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act.
Stakeholders
- California American Water
- The agency responsible for supplying the Monterey Peninsula with water
- County of Monterey
- Private users of CalAm water
Laws, policies, & regulations [4]
Between 1987 and 1991 the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) received formal complaints from four stakeholder organizations within the Carmel Valley: the Carmel River Steelhead Association, the Sierra Club, the Residents Water Committee, and the California Department of Parks and Recreation. Complaints alleged that pumping of the Carmel River Aquifer by Cal-Am:
- Caused observable recession of the Carmel River riparian zone
- Was Destroying habitat for the then threatened post 1998 endangered Steelhead Salmon
- Violated the public trust doctrine – stating that the harvesting of a public resource (Carmel River water) must not interfere with the ability of the public to utilize that resource.
In 1995 the SWRCB upheld the allegations of the Carmel River stakeholder groups, determining that Cal-Am had no legal right to 10,730 acre-feet of the 14,000 drafted annually and passed Order WR 95-10. This Cease and Desist order included a mitigation plan requiring that Cal-Am reduce the amount pumped from the Carmel River via a series of options. These options included:
- Appropriating/purchasing legal rights to the water in overdraft
- Greater reliance on the nearby Seaside Aquifer
- Building of a new dam and/or exploration of alternative and renewable sources of fresh water such as desalination and waste water treatment.
Systems
... What elements of the biophysical system are/were involved?...
Seventy five percent of the Monterey Peninsula's water supply is pumped from the Carmel River alluvial aquifer [5]. If there is not equivalent recharge to replenish the pumped water, the water table will decrease. Irrigation along the channel of the Carmel river currently mitigates vegetation mortality and bank erosion caused by a depressed water table [6].
Science
...What scientific studies are or would be relevant / already completed?...
Tools
Studying groundwater is difficult at best. However, hydrogeologists working in watersheds can use various clues in local environments to model groundwater using the water cycle. The City of Olympia, WA, in their planning for a series of groundwater wells (City of Olympia Groundwater) have identified model inputs that hydrogeologists would want to use to analytically quantify groundwater in a watershed:
- Information from well logs, groundwater levels and the rate at which ground water travels.
- Aquifer characteristics. Namely the permeability, thickness, location, extent and the boundaries.
- Volume of water exiting the streams.
- Volume of water leaving springs.
- Volume of water leaving tributaries.
- Groundwater recharge-in the forms of precipitation, and surface runoff.
- Finally, the quantity of water being pumped under various scenarios.
Future research
Future research, especially in the Carmel watershed, should be focused on capacity issues of the carmel aquifer. We need to better quantify the amount of water that can be extracted without the risk of land subsidence causing permanent decrease in aquifer storage capacity . Another major issue for the carmel river groundwater basin is salt water intrusion. While a granite sill currently protects the aquifer from significant salt water intrusion (as is the current problem in the Salinas Valley (salt water intrusion)[7] ), questions remain as to how far we can drain the aquifer before witnessing significant losses of the fresh water portion of the aquifer. Both these issues require immediate attention to avoid serious, irreversible consequences that will inedibility constrain our ability to sustain the life style we are accustomed to on the peninsula.
Master's candidates in the Coastal and Watershed and Environmental Policy program at California State University of Monterey Bay could pursue either of the above mentioned future research. Both will require significant modeling of the groundwater aquifer combined with visualizations for policy purposes. With unlimited funding, one could dig measuring wells throughout the carmel watershed to develop a 3D model of the entire aquifer--similar to what the Salinas Valley currently possesses today.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Monterey's Coastal Water Project
- ↑ Seaside Groundwater Basin Report
- ↑ Monterey Court Adjudication Decision
- ↑ Order WR 95-10 http://www.mpwmd.dst.ca.us/order9510/order9510.htm
- ↑ Carmel River Watershed: Water Supply Perspective http://www.epa.gov/region09/water/groundwater/gwswp-forum/files/Oliver.pdf
- ↑ Physical and Hydrologic Assessment of the Carmel River Watershed California http://ccows.csumb.edu/pubs/reports/CCoWS_CRWC_CarmAssPhysHyd_041101.pdf#79
- ↑ management of groundwater management resources in the Salinas Valley, California, by computer
Disclaimer
This page may contain student work completed as part of assigned coursework. It may not be accurate. It does not necessary reflect the opinion or policy of CSUMB, its staff, or students.
