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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