District staff work on projects to augment need
Despite predictions of an average or above average rain year on
the way, the latest San Benito County Water District Annual
Groundwater Report for 2009 suggests that water supplies will
remain tight in San Benito County in the next year.
”
In the near term, everything should be about the same as far as
demand,
”
said Dale Rosskamp, the deputy district engineer with the San
Benito County Water District.
District staff work on projects to augment need
Despite predictions of an average or above average rain year on the way, the latest San Benito County Water District Annual Groundwater Report for 2009 suggests that water supplies will remain tight in San Benito County in the next year.
“In the near term, everything should be about the same as far as demand,” said Dale Rosskamp, the deputy district engineer with the San Benito County Water District.
In 2009, San Benito County water allocations from the Central Valley Project were reduced by 10 percent for agriculture uses and 60 percent for municipal and industrial uses due to a Federal Court decision to protect the Delta smelt.
A federal court decision requires CVP staff to do no harm to Delta fish species such as the Delta smelt, longfin smelt, green sturgeon, Chinook salmon and Central Valley steelhead. The local allocation for 2010 will depend on rainfall and storage in CVP reservoirs, San Joaquin River flows in the Delta area and the abundance of the fish next spring.
In 2009, the amount of groundwater pumped did increase, but it was at least 20 percent below previous years.
“Current groundwater storage is sufficient to accommodate several successive dry years with negative water budgets, and the capacity for groundwater recovery in subsequent years is sufficient to balance moderate increases in groundwater pumping without causing long-term overdraft,” according to the report.
“Overall, even though things are not good with not getting the CVP water, it is not dire,” Rosskamp said. “We have reserves that we can tap into and we are working on projects to augment needs.”
In addition to the restrictions, California has been in a drought for three years. For the 2009 rainfall year, which runs October through September, San Benito had 9.95 inches of water, below the average of 13 inches a year, according to readings from the San Benito weather station.
“Using a baseline of 2006, water demand and supply has decreased in recent years; however the future is likely to include increased urban demand in several subbasins and some increase in agricultural demand, even accounting for water conservation,” according to the report.
The report discusses current and future water needs in three zones of the county: Zone 1 includes the entire county; Zone 3 covers the San Benito River Valley from the Hwy. 25 bridge south of Paicines to San Juan Bautista and the Tres Pinos Creek Valley from Paicines to the San Benito River, including the Hernandez and Paicines reservoirs; and Zone 6 which includes most of the Gilroy-Hollister groundwater basin in San Benito County.
One area the report highlights includes the water resource management projects that the San Benito County Water District is involved with, such as a Water Softener Rebate program that started in May 2007 and will continue through Dec. 2010. The District is administering the program for the Water Resources Association, in conjunction with the Santa Clara Valley Water District. Local residents who have a water softening system from before 1999 may be eligible for a rebate between $150-300 if they upgrade to a more energy-efficient system.
The city also started a reclaimed water irrigation project with the city of Hollister when the wastewater treatment plant was completed. Sprinkler systems were installed at the Hollister Municipal Airport that will be used for recycled water irrigation.
Reclaimed water is already being used to irrigate grass fields at Riverside Park, on the Westside of Hollister. In addition, the staff created a demonstration garden with lettuce and spinach that was irrigated using reclaimed water.
“This demonstration garden was monitored closely, with weekly water quality samplings and analysis for general mineral (physical and inorganic), pathogens and chlorine residual,” according to the report.
“The idea of the pilot project is to show this water is indeed safe,” Rosskamp said, adding that the staff is currently working on lower the salt level. “This is ongoing and it will take several years of doing public relationships campaigns. But we have our lab plots and I am taking samples to the lab that keep coming back negative.”
Though the tests have come up negative, the produce is not yet certified for human consumption. Future pilot projects will include the necessary permits to certify the food is safe to eat. The demonstration garden is the first step in creating a plan to use the reclaimed water for irrigation of crops, as a back up when necessary levels of CVP or groundwater are not available for agricultural uses.
The groundwater report included some recommendations for the future. The staff suggest working with the county agricultural commissioner’s office to compile data about agricultural water use in each groundwater subbasin to get a better understanding of how much water is being used. The staff will also continue to monitor wells throughout the county.
The 2010 charges for agricultural as well as municipal and industrial supplies are recommended to stay the same. Agricultural use is $2.50 and municipal/industrial use is $22.50. The district will start work on a longer-term rate plan.
Water District staff members are urging continued conservation efforts in 2010.
