Paso Robles aquifers could drop another 70 feet over 30 years
Supervisors to get presentation and discuss water basin issue in January
Supervisors to get presentation and discuss water basin issue in JanuaryEven with the county of San Luis Obispo’s emergency ordinance in place that prohibits the development or planting of new irrigated crops in the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin, a hydrological analysis of the basin that shows aquifer levels could drop another 70 feet in the next 30 years if pumping continues as is. The study area consists of the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin, which includes 790 square miles in the upper Salina River watershed in the North County and southern Monterey County.
The primary groundwater discharge components for the basin from 1981-2011 are:
- Agricultural pumping (average 68 percent)
- Municipal pumping (11 percent)
- Private Domestic pumping (3 percent)
- Small commercial pumping (2 percent)
- Evapotranspiration by riparian vegetation (3 percent)
- Groundwater discharge to rivers (12 percent)
- Subsurface outflow (1 percent)
According to the report’s executive summary, agricultural pumping makes up more than two-thirds of the water use and it is not metered, so it was subject to detailed analysis by the consultants, Geoscience and Todd Groundwater. The report gave the following recommendations for addressing the anticipated drop in water:
- Reevaluate recharge mechanisms of water from the watershed entering the groundwater basin
- Incorporate Streamflow Routing Package to simulate streamflow and groundwater discharges to rivers
- Reevaluate deep percolation of direct precipitation and agricultural return flows in the groundwater basin
“I believe that the latest legislative bills that will go in effect are absolute game changers when it comes to managing groundwater,” Mecham said. “I think addressing the issue of water and its future is long overdue. Who, how and at what cost the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin is managed remains to be answered. However, I do believe there are the means to do so be it locally, via a water district, or county managed or state managed. Fundamentally, the cost of water in California, no matter where you are, is going up and the rules that will be applicable to that management program will apply across the board.”
A presentation and discussion on this issue is scheduled for the County Board of Supervisor’s meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2015.
We could get hit by a meteor.
Putting our water in the hands of power-hungry politicians, isn't a good idea. Watch what happens to our water now. We're hosed.
As a 50 year resident; I don't need any more wineries!
Let the people of the area decide the fate of the water district, not the politicians, and not the corporations that control the agriculture in the area.
the wineries and rich guys don't give a cr*p …when they've used it up (all the water and land)they'll just move to the next spot…..and they'll GET there way until their done. stamp it.
I know this is unpopular, but has anyone even considered the massive amount of water consumed by the trees in the area? Particularly in the City where many thousands of trees have been planted over the years. Look up the amount of water used by a tree and you will be amazed! I had to laugh when I saw an article in the paper about the water shortage, while the same issue mentioned a plan to plant another couple of thousand trees! Look it up on Google, and then do the math. (I love trees, but it is something to at least consider.)
It seems to me the water issue is a manageable problem provided we have actual data on how much water everyone is using. This means we must put water meters on all of the wells that drain the aquifer. The good news is that there are now wireless water meters that can record how much is pumped out of a well and then report that over the web so there is no need to have to employ meter readers. Once we have this data it should be easy to figure out how much we can actually take out and put reasonable and fair limits on how much water people can use. I hope the new water district officials will quickly take up the issue of water metering.
yeah…who wants those pesky trees….lol
What a Joke. ONLY 70 ft in 30 years. I WISH that would be the case. My well has dropped 50 feet in the past 3.5 years. Adding all the new BIG hotels and a resort/golf coarse in the next few years the aquifer will drop much more per year. Even if we have average rain fall the water tables will keep going down. There are two many straws in the aquifer. The city being the biggest user.
We could get hit by a meteor.
Putting our water in the hands of power-hungry politicians, isn't a good idea. Watch what happens to our water now. We're hosed.
As a 50 year resident; I don't need any more wineries!
Let the people of the area decide the fate of the water district, not the politicians, and not the corporations that control the agriculture in the area.
the wineries and rich guys don't give a cr*p …when they've used it up (all the water and land)they'll just move to the next spot…..and they'll GET there way until their done. stamp it.
I know this is unpopular, but has anyone even considered the massive amount of water consumed by the trees in the area? Particularly in the City where many thousands of trees have been planted over the years. Look up the amount of water used by a tree and you will be amazed! I had to laugh when I saw an article in the paper about the water shortage, while the same issue mentioned a plan to plant another couple of thousand trees! Look it up on Google, and then do the math. (I love trees, but it is something to at least consider.)
It seems to me the water issue is a manageable problem provided we have actual data on how much water everyone is using. This means we must put water meters on all of the wells that drain the aquifer. The good news is that there are now wireless water meters that can record how much is pumped out of a well and then report that over the web so there is no need to have to employ meter readers. Once we have this data it should be easy to figure out how much we can actually take out and put reasonable and fair limits on how much water people can use. I hope the new water district officials will quickly take up the issue of water metering.
yeah…who wants those pesky trees….lol
What a Joke. ONLY 70 ft in 30 years. I WISH that would be the case. My well has dropped 50 feet in the past 3.5 years. Adding all the new BIG hotels and a resort/golf coarse in the next few years the aquifer will drop much more per year. Even if we have average rain fall the water tables will keep going down. There are two many straws in the aquifer. The city being the biggest user.