Contact: Patrick Breen, Water Resources Manager
(831) 883-5951 office or (831) 233-9718 mobile
pbreen@mcwd.org or customerservice@mcwd.org
It's Groundwater Awareness Week
Marina Coast Water District and its Many Partners
Collaborate to Protect and Maintain This Critical Resource
It's National Groundwater Awareness Week. Because groundwater is the main source of water for Marina Coast Water District (MCWD) customers in Marina, Seaside, and the Ord Community, it is a good time to share how MCWD and its local partners are putting more water into the ground to ensure current and long-term water supply resiliency for communities, businesses, and the environment.
Managing Our Groundwater for the Long-Term
Marina Coast Water District serves as a Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA). As a GSA, MCWD is responsible for the long-term management and health of our shared groundwater supply, partly funded with a $6.45 million grant. MCWD is starting a new project to protect Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems with Salinas Valley Basin GSA and Central Coast Wetland Group to better understand how to sustainably manage these ecosystems.
Preventing Seawater Intrusion. An example of one project called for in the Sustainability Plan is to inject water into the ground near the coast that will provide a wall of fresh water and keep seawater from flowing inland. This barrier would prevent contamination of District groundwater wells with seawater. It is a collaborative effort by MCWD and the Salinas Valley Groundwater Sustainability Agency.
Preventing Seawater Intrusion. The District is evaluating a plan to extract intruded water near the coast to prevent seawater from flowing inland. This is a collaborative effort by MCWD and the Salinas Valley Groundwater Sustainability Agency.
Indirect Potable Reuse of Recycled Water. MCWD completed a study showing how the District could inject recycled water into the groundwater aquifer and store it for future use.
Monitoring Wells in Collaboration with Neighboring Water Agencies
MCWD staff is planning to install two monitoring wells in the Marina-Ord area and are working with the Seaside Watermaster and Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (MPWMD) to install additional wells that will monitor for seawater intrusion.
Collaborating on Long-Term Groundwater Management
MCWD is participating in the Regional Deep Aquifer Study. The Study will provide a greater understanding of the deep aquifer — its breadth and size, safe yield, and more. Marina Coast Water District is undertaking this effort with urban and agricultural users in the Salinas Valley Groundwater Basin.
Reliable Partner and Leader in the Center of the Groundwater Basin
The major water resources in the region all intersect in MCWD. The District owns a currently offline desalination plant that it is working to refit and bring online, shares ownership in a water recycling plant, and has aquifer storage and recovery facilities within its boundaries, along with extensive groundwater rights.
To share costs and ensure future reliable supplies for all, the District works extensively with Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency, Monterey County Water Resources Agency, Monterey Peninsula Water Management District, Seaside Watermaster, City of Marina, City of Seaside, City of Del Rey Oaks, City of Monterey, the County of Monterey, and California State University Monterey Bay.
MCWD will continue to provide customers with affordable, high-quality water, recycled water, and wastewater services through effective planning, management, and development of water resources in an environmentally sensitive manner.