The sustainable management of groundwater is an important issue across California, but water users along the coast also must deal with seawater intrusion when their basins become imbalanced. Learn how one water district is working to quantify the problem and address it on our Central Coast Tour Nov. 6-7.

Soquel Creek Water District is named for the stream that flows down from the nearby Santa Cruz Mountains, but the agency sources its water entirely from a local groundwater basin that has experienced seawater intrusion due to overdraft. The district recently wrapped up a project using an airborne electromagnetic survey to accurately map the location of this freshwater/seawater interface down to 200 meters below sea level.

The Foundation’s final tour of 2019 will highlight this and other issues surrounding urban, agricultural and environmental water use on California’s scenic Central Coast. This tour is all new and will not be on the 2020 tour lineup.

Traveling from the technology hub of Silicon Valley’s San Jose to the coastal enclave of Monterey and to the wine country of Paso Robles, participants will learn about the challenges of a region struggling to be sustainable with limited local supplies.

Among other stops, we will visit the site of a dam removal to see how the river restoration has progressed. We will also visit the Pure Water Monterey project, Northern California’s first water recycling project of its kind to include agricultural runoff in the mix for both domestic and agricultural indirect potable reuse. It is slated to start delivering water in November.

Seating is limited so click here to register for this tour that begins and ends in San Jose, with an overnight stay in Paso Robles. Contact Programs Manager Nick Gray via email or at 916-444-6240 with any questions.