$15M Awarded For Groundwater Projects In Santa Cruz County

News release from the County of Santa Cruz:

SANTA CRUZ, CA —The groundwater sustainability agencies for the Santa Cruz Mid-County Groundwater Basin and for the Pajaro Valley Basin have each been awarded $7.6 million dollars to help implement projects to create sustainable groundwater basins.

The grants are part of $150 million awarded statewide through the Sustainable Groundwater Management (SGM) Grant Program, which is overseen by the California Department of Water Resources, which works with local water agencies and partners to promote healthy and sustainable groundwater basins. The awards went to the Mid-County Groundwater Agency and the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency.

“This success is a reflection of all the hard work that our local agencies have put in to groundwater management, and we are grateful that the Department of Water Resources recognizes both the local need for this funding and our ability to put it to good use,” said Sierra Ryan, water resources manager for Santa Cruz County. “This funding will go a long way in helping us achieve local groundwater sustainability.”

Funding for the Mid-County Groundwater Basin be overseen by the Santa Cruz Mid- County Groundwater Agency and would help relocate coastal wells, increase aquifer injection to improve groundwater supplies, improve groundwater and hydraulic modeling in the basin, and more. Funding for the Pajaro Valley Basin will be overseen by the Pajaro Valley Water

Management Agency, and would help develop College Lake as an alternative water source for agricultural use, reducing groundwater overdraft and seawater intrusion.

For a full list of awards, visit this link.

This news release was produced by the County of Santa Cruz. The views expressed here are the author's own.