To read an article in Western Cities Magazine that describes the full WSAC process, please visit this link:  http://www.westerncity.com/article/santa-cruz-engages-community-identify-water-solutions 

To see the presentation from the April 1, 2019 joint meeting of the Water Commission and former Water Supply Advisory Committee members, use this link in your browser: https://drive.google.com/file/d/13QH9BKSqi0svTJT4QlvBMR1WWUTcAYH8/view?usp=sharing

August 16, 2018 the Final Desalination Feasibility Update Review can be found here.

July 3, 2018 The Santa Cruz Regional Recycled Water Facilities Planning Study is available in three files; the main body, the appendices and meeting materials.

APRIL 10, 2018 JOINT WATER COMMISSION/CITY COUNCIL MEETING 

On April 10, 2018 the Water Commission and City Council held a joint meeting for an update on City water-related items, with a particular focus on progress made on water supply recommendations made by the Water Supply Advisory Committee. Links are provided below to the presentations that were made. 

To view the presentation providing an update on WSAC work, please click here.

To view the presentation on the framework that will be used for decision-making on water supply recommendations, please click here.

To view the presentation on 2018 annual water supply and demand, please click here.

To view the presentation on regional collaboration efforts, please click here.

WSAC meeting, July 2015

The WSAC operated independently and employed a technical support team and an independent review panel. The committee had its own charter, was fully transparent and operated under California's open public meeting laws. Fourteen committee members represented local interests including the environment, business, education and the City's water commission. The group met for 18 months.

The public was encouraged to attend all WSAC meetings, and were additionally encouraged to attend many enrichment meetings that WSAC provided. To see the list of modeling and forecasting workshops and the accompanying materials, click here.

In December 2015, the City Council adopted WSAC's recommendations to secure the reliability of our water supply. Following are the recommendations adopted by the City Council:

Conservation – In addition to existing conservation programs, the WSAC recommends looking at new programs, such as increased rebates and better management of peak season demand. The goal of additional programs is to further reduce demand by 200 to 250 million gallons per year (mgy) by 2035, with a particular focus on producing savings during the peak season. 

Groundwater Storage: In-Lieu Water Exchanges and Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) – In normal years the Santa Cruz Water Department (SCWD) receives more rainfall than is needed to meet customer demand or can be stored in Loch Lomond Reservoir. Using In-Lieu Water Exchanges, available winter flows would be delivered to Soquel Creek Water District (SqCWD) and/or Scotts Valley Water District (SVWD) customers, thus enabling reduced pumping from regional aquifers and enabling the aquifer to passively rest and recharge.

Beltz 12 Well and Water Treatment Facility, which could be used in water exchanges

Using ASR, available winter flows would be injected into aquifers through new and existing wells owned by the SCWD, SVWD and/or SqCWD, thereby actively recharging aquifers. A portion of the water delivered using In-Lieu or ASR would be effectively banked in the aquifers to be extracted and returned to SCWD when needed in future dry years.

Advanced Treated Recycled Water or Desalinated Water would be developed as a supplemental supply in the event the groundwater storage strategies described above prove insufficient to meet the Plan’s goals of cost-effectiveness, timeliness or yield.   If it is determined that recycled water cannot meet our needs, then desalinated seawater would be pursued.

To see the full report of Agreements and Recommendations, please click here.