Water Supply

The issue of water supply varies dramatically in California from county to county.  Many areas are highly dependent on water that is transported over long distances through aqueducts and canals.  Each system is different and they vary between connection to the Central Valley Project and ownership of a discrete system like the city and county of San Francisco, which "owns" Hetch Hechy reservoir and the complex pipeline conveyance from Yosemite National Park to Crystal Springs Reservoir along the "peninsula" south of the city.  These systems involve complex water rights decisions that are in nearly continual dispute in California.  Virtually all water resources in California are over allocated.  In other words, only in heavy rainfall years, do all water rights holders get the full use of the water rights they hold ownership of.  In dry years like 2008-09, water users can access only a portion of their theoretical water right.  A water right is essentially the right to use water not to own it.  The principle in law is called "beneficial use".  Endangered species of fish are very far down on the water rights chain.  Their right to water is ineffectively defended by government agencies and they disappear, taking with them entire ecosystems, like the Sacramento San Joaquin Delta.

Santa Cruz County relies entirely upon local sources of water, either ground water or surface stream flows.  Ground water is essentially local and involves discrete aquifers or ground water basins.  Water does not magically flow under ground from the Sierra Nevada  to Santa Cruz as some people imagine.  Except during winter storms, these two sources of water, surface and wells are essentially the same.  It is easy to explain this because base flow in streams is ground water.  A stream channel will be at the lowest point in a canyon or valley and the stream intersects sub-surface ground water which then enters the stream from "springs" in the stream bed.  The most dramatic way to see this process in action is in volcanic area like the land around Mount Shasta.  The photo below is of a spectacular California river called the McCloud near Shasta City.  This is "Big Spring" where the McCloud River canyon cuts through a system of basalt underground channels and delivers water from Mount Shasta directly to the McCloud.  This water is as cold and clean as water on this planet ever gets.  The McCloud once supported several species of salmon, Dolly Varden or Bull Trout and other wild fish. Two dams ended this forever when the McCloud was cut off from connection to the Pacific through the Sacramento River and then split in half between its headwaters and lower river.  McCloud fish are now limited to trout, artificially maintained for sport fishing, a tiny fragment of its original abundance.

In Santa Cruz County we do not have such a spectacular demonstration of how ground water fills streams, but the principle is the same.  Many small springs feed into watershed tributaries and bring a stream into existence.  When ground water is drawn down by well extraction or drought these springs wane and stream flows fall or stop altogether.  There are locations in our county where wells dry up creeks.  For this reason we need changes to water law that reflect the reality of where water actually comes from and who is effected by well pumping.

The most familiar well draw-downs are in the coastal plain where the problem of salt water intrusion is a major issue.  Water from the ocean moves inland to replace water pumped out of the ground. This ruins a ground water basin.  The lower Pajaro River plain and the Beltz wells used by the Soquel Creek Water District are both experiencing various levels of salt water problems.  The Pajaro is already at a crisis with wells that are ruined and must be capped.  In the San Lorenzo Valley well pumping has created disputes between water agencies over who gets first use of certain aquifers.

Lompico uses a sand dome south of Eagle Dell peak above West Drive for a small well field.  For the Lompico County Water District, this is the second most important source of water after surface diversion from Lompico Creek.  In the late summer and fall this field is the primary source of water.  No one knows to what extent pumping from this field affects the creek or other aquifers.  It sometimes takes complex scientific research to track the effects of wells.  An easier cause and effect to understand is when a well water elevation is falling.  This indicates that the water source for a well is being depleted.   The City of Scotts Valley Water Department has drawn down its wells about 100 feet causing considerable alarm about their future water supply.  Scotts Valley aquifers have also been polluted by fuel leakage which must be tracked by test wells. You may have seen one being drilled in the Kings Village parking lot. Heavy pumping of wells can damage an aquifer by extracting so much water that the ground actually sinks and colapses the storage abilty of a sub-surface water basin.  All of these problems are common in many parts of California and easily demonstrate why government oversight of water resources is so important.  However such regulation becomes ineffective if the public is not involved and playing a part in water resource protection.