Water quality and supplemental water sources

By Rick Meyer

Pure and Reliable

Unlike many communities around the world and in our own state, we have been able to take for granted a reliable and pure water source, free of 120 possible contaminants that are tested for regularly. A lot happens behind the scenes to make this possible. The District's treatment plants remove arsenic, iron, manganese, microbes and more to keep you healthy. The District has pioneered new treatment technology that will be adopted around the state to remove naturally occurring hexavalent chromium. A complex computer system monitors and controls system operations. Water is now actually a high tech industry. Unlike single-issue, hot button candidates, Meyer and Jaffe have the proven scientific and management background to make sure this complex infrastructure will keep working and evolve as needed.

Supplemental Supply

Only a supplemental supply, combined with conservation, can provide enough water to overcome the accumulated deficit, halt seawater intrusion, and finally achieve sustainability, without undue hardship or economic impact. Projected climate change impacts and the modest growth projected by the County will increase demand somewhat. Since the City of Santa Cruz withdrew from its partnership with our community, Meyer, Jaffe and the whole board directed the staff in a community-wide evaluation of supplemental supply alternatives. The grand jury has commended the District on the transparency and community involvement of this process. The evaluation concluded that the preferred option is water recycling. Waste water that now goes to a treatment plant and then out into the ocean would instead be treated to pure drinking water standards, purer than water from the ground or rivers. Instead of being used as drinking water it would be injected into the ground to replenish the depleted aquifers. This is proven technology used around the world. Bear in mind that the contents of septic system leach fields is now "recycled" naturally just by traveling through the soil on its way to aquifers. State regulations assure that injection wells are far from any drinking water wells.

Other options that were evaluated and might still be considered if the recycling project encounters major roadblocks are:

Local Desalination: A desalination plant would be built within District boundaries to serve District customers, although nearby partners might be invited to participate.

Deepwater Desalination: Plans for a regional desalination plant combined with an innovative ocean-cooled data center are taking shape, to be located at Moss Landing. The project is planned to have no carbon impact and even generate carbon savings. This project is currently proceeding independently of the District.

Water Exchanges: Excess winter flows in the San Lorenzo River would be delivered to the District. In drought years, perhaps some banked water could be returned to the City of Santa Cruz.

Staff also looked at whether the deficit could be filled with conservation alone, but this would have created hardship and economic impacts, and was more expensive than other options. As imagined, it would have precluded the District from undertaking other significant capital projects. The Board reduced the projected cost of future conservation from $117 million, down to $25 million.

Meyer and Jaffe are committed that you, the voters, will have final say on which plans are turned into reality. They have the technical background to direct the development of whatever project the voters support. They also have no ties to special interests that could influence the process.