Pajaro River Watershed Integrated Regional Water Management Plan

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Pajaro River Watershed Integrated Regional Water Management Plan Pajaro River Watershed Integrated Regional Water Management Plan October 2019 Pajaro River Watershed Integrated Regional Water Management Plan October 2019 Table of Contents 1 Governance ................................................................................................ 9 1.1 Background ....................................................................................................................................... 9 1.2 Governance Structure ........................................................................................................................ 9 1.2.1 Regional Water Management Group ...................................................................................... 10 1.2.2 Stakeholder Steering Committee ............................................................................................ 12 1.2.3 Project Sponsors ...................................................................................................................... 16 1.2.4 General Stakeholders .............................................................................................................. 16 1.3 Benefits of IRWM Governance Structure ....................................................................................... 22 1.3.1 Public Outreach and Involvement Processes .......................................................................... 23 1.3.2 Balanced Access and Opportunity for IRWM Process Participation ...................................... 23 1.3.3 Effective Communication ....................................................................................................... 23 1.3.4 Coordination with Neighboring IRWM Efforts and Agencies ............................................... 26 1.3.5 Effective Decision Making ..................................................................................................... 27 1.3.6 Long-Term Implementation of the IRWM Plan ..................................................................... 27 1.4 IRWM Plan Adoption and Maintenance ......................................................................................... 28 1.5 Collaborative Process Used to Establish Plan Objectives ............................................................... 28 2 Region Description .................................................................................. 29 2.1 Pajaro River Watershed Relevance as an IRWM Plan ................................................................... 29 2.1.1 Water Supply .......................................................................................................................... 30 2.1.2 Water Quality .......................................................................................................................... 31 2.1.3 Flood Management ................................................................................................................. 31 2.1.4 Environmental Enhancement .................................................................................................. 32 2.1.5 Relationship of Other IRWM Plan Efforts .............................................................................. 32 2.2 Internal Boundaries ......................................................................................................................... 33 2.2.1 Counties .................................................................................................................................. 33 2.2.2 Cities ....................................................................................................................................... 34 2.2.3 Special Districts ...................................................................................................................... 35 2.3 Land Use ......................................................................................................................................... 36 2.3.1 PV Water Land Use ................................................................................................................ 37 2.3.2 San Benito County Land Use .................................................................................................. 38 2.3.3 Valley Water South County Land Use .................................................................................... 39 2.4 Water Demand ................................................................................................................................ 40 2.5 Water Quality and Quantity ............................................................................................................ 41 2.5.1 Groundwater Supply ............................................................................................................... 41 2.5.2 Local Surface Water................................................................................................................ 48 2.5.3 Imported Water Supply ........................................................................................................... 64 2.5.4 Recycled Water ....................................................................................................................... 67 2.5.5 Water Conservation................................................................................................................. 68 2.5.6 Desalted Water ........................................................................................................................ 68 2.5.7 Future Water Supply Versus Demand..................................................................................... 69 Table of Contents Page 1 Pajaro River Watershed Integrated Regional Water Management Plan October 2019 2.6 Ecological Processes/Environmental Resources ............................................................................. 69 2.7 Cultural Resources .......................................................................................................................... 72 2.7.1 Cultural Resources in Soap Lake ............................................................................................ 72 2.7.2 Cultural Resources in Valley Water and PV Water Service Area .......................................... 73 2.8 Social/Cultural/Economic State ...................................................................................................... 74 2.9 Disadvantaged Communities .......................................................................................................... 74 2.10 Climate Change ............................................................................................................................... 76 3 IRWM Plan Objectives ............................................................................. 78 3.1 Mission, Goals and Objectives ........................................................................................................ 78 3.1.1 Water Supply Objectives ........................................................................................................ 80 3.1.2 Water Quality Objectives ........................................................................................................ 82 3.1.3 Flood Management Objectives ............................................................................................... 82 3.1.4 Environmental Protection and Enhancement Objectives ........................................................ 83 3.1.5 Focused Studies Objectives .................................................................................................... 84 3.2 Prioritization of the Goals and Objectives ...................................................................................... 84 3.2.1 Water Supply Prioritization .................................................................................................... 84 3.2.2 Water Quality Prioritization .................................................................................................... 85 3.2.3 Flood Management Prioritization ........................................................................................... 85 3.2.4 Environmental Protection and Enhancement Prioritization .................................................... 85 3.3 Objective Measures ......................................................................................................................... 86 4 Resource Management Strategies ........................................................... 89 4.1 Agricultural Water Use Efficiency ................................................................................................. 90 4.2 Urban Water Use Efficiency ........................................................................................................... 91 4.3 Crop Idling for Water Transfers ...................................................................................................... 91 4.4 Irrigated Land Retirement ............................................................................................................... 91 4.5 Conveyance – Delta ........................................................................................................................ 91 4.6 Conveyance – Regional/Local ........................................................................................................ 92 4.7 System Reoperation ........................................................................................................................ 92 4.8 Water Transfers ..............................................................................................................................
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