Groundwater overdraft in California's Central Coast Region

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A watershed-related issue examined by the ENVS 560/L Watershed Systems class at CSUMB.

Seawater intrusion into groundwater aquifers from 1944 through 2015. The 180-Foot aquifer is one of two main water supply aquifers within the Salinas River Groundwater Basin. Images from Monterey County Water Resource Association, made in 2017 [1]
Seawater intrusion into groundwater aquifers from 1944 through 2015. The 400-Foot aquifer is one of two main water supply aquifers within the Salinas River Groundwater Basin. Images from Monterey County Water Resource Association, made in 2017 [2]

Summary

Seawater intrusion into the Salinas Valley groundwater aquifers has advanced since it was first measured in 1944.[3] In 2014 elevated salinity levels were recorded less than 1/2 mile from the city of Salinas at the 180-Foot aquifer[4] and seawater at that time was beginning to encroach beyond the limits of Castroville, CA at the 400-Foot aquifer. New maps indicate that these elevated salinity levels may have increased. Monterey County Water Resource Association, made in 2017. The extent of seawater intrusion has moved farther inland due to continuing overdraft conditions for municipal and agricultural uses.

Location

The Salinas Valley basin lies within the boundaries of Monterey County, California. Groundwater is extracted from the four major aquifers: Upper Valley, Forebay, East Side, and Pressure[5]. These aquifers create an interconnected groundwater system that supplies the bulk of the irrigation and municipal water usage in the Salinas Valley.

Hydrology

Along the coast of Monterey County, fresh groundwater flows from inland aquifers to meet with seawater from the ocean. The fresh groundwater flows from the Salinas Valley towards the coast where elevation and groundwater levels are lower. Due to the higher salinity of seawater, it is denser than fresh groundwater and has a higher hydraulic head. When the fresh groundwater aquifers within the Salinas Valley have a lower hydraulic head, seawater moves inland in a wedge shape under freshwater until head levels return to equilibrium. Seawater and fresh groundwater then mix along the transition zone through dispersion and diffusion, raising salinity levels for wells that tap into these areas.[6] Once seawater intrusion has taken place, the effect on drinking and irrigation water quality within the aquifer is long-lasting. Wells are typically abandoned when salinity exceeds appropriate water quality standards.[7]

Author, Year. Title. Source

Overdraft of Water Resources

Over 524 thousand acre-feet of groundwater was extracted during the 2014 water year. 91.55% went to agricultural use and 8.45% for urban use.[5] This high dependence on groundwater for the water needs in the Salinas Valley has led to critical overdraft conditions[8] that have resulted in abandonment of agricultural and urban supply wells due to rising salinity levels[9]. Groundwater overdraft can lead to numerous problems such as seawater intrusion, aquifer storage reduction, loss in groundwater quality, and lower of water levels.[10] The concern over these adverse effects has led to the development of a statewide groundwater management plan[11] and new supplemental water supplies from the Salinas Valley Water Project.

Stakeholders

There are a number of key stakeholders invested in groundwater resources such as the agriculture industry, businesses, government agencies, non-profits, and more. Here are some brief overviews of why a few of these stakeholders are involved:

  • The agricultural industry is one key stakeholder within the Salinas Valley, as the estimated worth of the industry is $8.1 billion[12] and depends heavily on groundwater for almost all of its water needs[9]. Irrigation with high-salinity water damages crop yield, crop quality, and soil health for future use of the land for agriculture.[13]
  • In addition, the businesses and communities surrounding Lake Nacimiento rely on the lake for recreational use and energy production. Despite the lake's location within neighboring San Luis Obispo County, the Monterey County Water Resources Agency (MCWRA) manages it for the purpose of aquifer recharge and mitigation of saltwater intrusion.

Laws, policies, & regulations

Seawater intrusion into groundwater aquifers from 1944 through 2013. The 180-Foot (left) and 400-Foot (right) aquifers are the two main water supply aquifers within the Salinas River Groundwater Basin. Images from State of the Salinas River Groundwater Basin Report (Jan. 2015) [15]

In 1961, Nacimiento Dam was completed to supply irrigation water to the Salinas Valley agricultural community and to recharge the aquifers. Attempts to change structural and operational practices at the dam have meet severe local opposition resulting in several lawsuits[16]. A special act district, Monterey County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, was formed in 1947 for the Salinas Valley due to early concerns about seawater intrusion and flooding problems throughout the region. It later became the MCWRA in 1991, which monitors groundwater quality and levels[17] but has had little authority in regulating groundwater extraction. On September 16, 2014, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a three-bill legislative package collectively known as the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). The SGMA mandates the formation of Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSA) and will significantly increase the role and responsibilities of local and state agencies to support sustainable groundwater management. As of March 2016, a draft plan has been developed for the GSA's key actions over the next several years that includes an outline for mitigating seawater intrusion.[18]

Water right laws are important in the management practices of this topic. A water right, as defined by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is "legal permission to use a reasonable amount of water for a beneficial purpose such as swimming, fishing, farming or industry." [19] Water right laws are administered by the State Water Board's Division of Water Right. [20]

Mitigation Strategies

  • The Monterey County Water Recycling Projects were designed to retard seawater intrusion and protect drinking water supplies via wastewater recycling at a combined cost of $75 million. [21]
  • The Castroville Seawater Intrusion Project began construction in 1995 and started delivering recycled water to 12,000 acres of farmland near Castroville in 1998. By using recycled water pumped from the Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency plant, growers safely irrigate their crops and reduce pumping of seawater intruded groundwater.[22]
  • The Salinas Valley Reclamation Plant treats wastewater to advanced tertiary level. The resultant recycled water meets all California State Standards for recreational and irrigation uses. The facility can produce a maximum of 91 acre-feet per day. It is the largest sewage treatment installation in the world to recycle wastewater for freshly edible food crops.[22]
  • The Salinas Valley Water Project was a $33 million project designed to provide long-term management and protection of groundwater resources by stopping seawater intrusion and providing adequate water supplies and flexibility to meet needs in 2030.[23]
  • The Nacimiento Dam Spillway Modification Component enlarged the original spillway to increase the amount of flood flow that could be controlled by raising and strengthening chute walls, anchoring channel walls. Other modifications included the installation of a Obermeyer (rubber) Gate System and strengthening the bridge pier with steel reinforced concrete.[23]
  • The Salinas River Diversion Facility was was constructed to provide treated (filtered and chlorinated) water from the Salinas River, significantly reducing the need to pump groundwater except in periods of extremely high demand, through use of pneumatically controlled diversion dam.[23]
  • Phase II of the Salinas Valley Water Project has been proposed to construct two additional water capture and diversion facilities along the Salinas River. The two water diversion points, will be located near the Soledad and south of Salinas.[24] As of July 2014, MCWRA had requested resources to conduct an Environmental Impact Report and engaged in initial funding discussions[25].
  • Several other irrigation efficiency studies have been, and are continuing, to help reduce agricultural impact by reducing the quantity of water being applied to crops.[26][27]

Scientific Tools

  • The State of the Salinas River Groundwater Basin Report [15] and Groundwater Extraction Summary Report [5]. developed by the MCWRA are useful tools for understanding how groundwater is utilized in the Salinas Valley.
  • Monitoring wells at selected sites within the Salinas Valley are tested to assess early indicators of seawater intrusion. Elevated sodium to chloride (Na/Cl) ratios indicate that numerous wells on the landward side of the seawater intrusion front have likely been affected, even though the chloride concentration has not increased to the 500 mg/L level used by MCWRA to delineate seawater intrusion.[15]
  • Reseachers at Stanford University use electrical resistivity tomography to noninvasively image depths of ~490 feet. Monitoring the electrical properties of water salinity along the the coast between Seaside and Marina provides a large area of coverage to map the location of seawater and fresh groundwater.[28]
  • The three-dimensional, finite-element-based Integrated Groundwater and Surface-Water Model (IGSM) was originally developed by Dr. Young S. Yoon in 1976 at the University of California, Los Angeles. Designed to simulate confined ground water flow, IGSM later underwent major revisions and modifications[29] including those made during application of IGSM to the Salinas Valley Groundwater Basin (SVIGSM)[30].
  • Modeling has been used to help understand Salinas Valley's groundwater hydrologic system. In her Senior Thesis at CSUMB, April McMillian used the SVIGSM to describe water table changes that have occurred due to water management policies[16].
  • RMC Water and Environment developed and calibrated an SVIGSM model and applied the criteria to the analysis of alternatives[31].

Ongoing Research

Compilation of paleo sea level data, tide gauge data, altimeter data, and estimates for likely projection range of global mean sea level rise scenarios, all relative to pre-industrial levels. Image sourced from IPCC Climate Change 2013[32]

Sea level rise must be included in future coastal aquifer studies due to probable impacts from global climate change. In 2013, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts about 1 meter of global mean sea level rise that will affect hydraulic head levels and seawater intrusion in Salinas Valley aquifers[32]:

  • Research conducted in the Department of Geography at UC Santa Barbara addressed the assessment of seawater intrusion potential from sea level rise in coastal aquifers of California. The Seaside Area sub-basin, adjacent to the Salinas Valley aquifers, in Monterey County was simulated with sea-level rise of up to 0.9 meters using FEFLOW and ArcGIS as modeling and analytical tools.[33]

Managed aquifer recharge projects provide a method of increasing groundwater supply:

  • UC Santa Cruz researchers are involved in a series of studies on managed aquifer recharge using infiltration ponds in central coastal California. They aim to quantify variability in infiltration, recharge, groundwater movement, and water quality. Results suggest that managed recharge systems might be operated for simultaneous improvements to both water supply and quality.[34]

Irrigation management aims to reduce the amount of groundwater extracted for agricultural use and slow the rate of seawater intrusion:

  • The Terrestrial Observation and Prediction System (TOPS), a NASA modeling framework developed to monitor and forecast environmental conditions, is being developed to support the use of satellite data to provide rapid assessments of current crop conditions. The TOPS Satellite Irrigation Management Support web interface project will translate the satellite data into formats that are useful to agricultural producers in maximizing irrigation efficiency[35].
  • CropManage, a UC Cooperative Extension web application, starting in 2012, began development of evapotranspiration data from the California Irrigation Management and Information System to accurately estimate the appropriate applied irrigation to meet crop needs and minimize potential leaching losses of nitrates. The online interface is directed toward growers to track irrigation and nitrogen fertilizer schedules based on field trials of high-yield production crops.[36]

Groundwater level monitoring provides insight into the quantity of groundwater being extracted within the Salinas Valley:

  • MCWRA actively monitors key wells for monthly fluctuations, and annual measures an established network of wells to determine relative changes in groundwater storage. A survey is also conducted each August to monitor changes in coastal groundwater zones that will affect the inland movement of seawater. In addition to these three surveys, the MCWRA maintains a network of dedicated monitoring wells instrumented with electronic data loggers that record data at regular intervals.[37]

References

  1. Monterey County Water Resource Association 2017
  2. Monterey County Water Resource Association 2017
  3. Bulletin No. 52-B Salinas Basin Investigation Summary Report
  4. Historic Seawater Intrusion Map for Pressure 180-Foot Aquifer
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 MCWRA 2015 Summary Report
  6. USGS, 1964. Groundwater Resources Program: Saltwater Intrusion https://water.usgs.gov/ogw/gwrp/saltwater/salt.html
  7. USGS: Saltwater intrusion in coastal regions of North America
  8. California Department of Water Resources, 2016. Critically Overdrafted Basins. https://www.water.ca.gov/Programs/Groundwater-Management/Bulletin-118/Critically-Overdrafted-Basins
  9. 9.0 9.1 Salinas Valley Water Project Description
  10. California Ag Water Stewardship Initative on Groundwater Management
  11. California Department of Water Resources: Sustainable Groundwater Management
  12. MIIS: Agriculture Contributes $8.1 Billion to Local Economy
  13. Pajaro Valley plan targets seawater intrusion
  14. NOAA: Can humans drink seawater?
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 State of the Salinas River Groundwater Basin Report (Jan. 2015)
  16. 16.0 16.1 Water Table Elevations in the Salinas Valley, California: Animated Visualization using GIS by April McMillian
  17. Monterey County Water Resources Agency Act
  18. California Department of Water Resources: Groundwater Sustainability Program Draft
  19. California Department of Fish and Wildlife on Water Rights
  20. California State Water Resources Control Board Division of Water Rights - Water Rights Programs Main Page
  21. Monterey One Water, 2017. Recycled Water. http://montereyonewater.org/facilities_tertiary_treatment.html
  22. 22.0 22.1 Marine Coast Water District: Recycled Water
  23. 23.0 23.1 23.2 MCWRA: Salinas Valley Water Project (SVWP) Overview
  24. MCWRA: Salinas Valley Water Project Phase II Overview
  25. MCWRA: Salinas Valley Water Project Phase II Project Status
  26. Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education: Building Tools and Technical Capacity to Improve Irrigation and Nutrient Management on California's Central Coast
  27. UC Cooperative Extension: Irrigation, Water Quality & Water Policy
  28. Stanford University: Imaging Saltwater Intrusion Along The Monterey Coast
  29. Review of the integrated groundwater and surface-water model (IGSM)
  30. MCWRA: Salinas Valley Integrated Ground Water and Surface Model Update
  31. Salinas Valley Integrated Regional Water Management Functionally Equivalent Plan Summary Document UPDATE
  32. 32.0 32.1 IPCC Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis chapter 13
  33. Sea Water Intrusion by Sea-Level Rise: Scenarios for the 21st Century by Hugo A. Loaiciga, Thomas J. Pingel, and Elizabeth S. Garcia
  34. California Institute for Water Resources: Improving groundwater recharge
  35. TOPS Satellite Irrigation Management Support
  36. CropManage Overview: A web application for managing water and nitrogen fertilizer in lettuce
  37. MCWRA: Groundwater Level Monitoring Overview

Links

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.