Grants bolster new ways of storm water management

In 2006, California voters approved Proposition 84, a $5.4 billion bond measure that has since helped to protect Watsonville sloughs, rebuild a jetty walk at the Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor and start building a new park in Santa Cruz' Lower Ocean Street neighborhood.

But with Santa Cruz County knee-deep in a water crisis, some of that money is now going into the ground. Across the county, nearly $3 million in projects are on tap that aim to manage stormwater better than funneling it into the sea, including keeping rivers and streams free of pollution and replenishing depleted groundwater supplies.

"Our goal is to practice resource management in a manner that realizes multiple benefits — not just water quality or habitat or water supply, but all of those things. Obviously, this year, drought is a huge issue, and these projects are designed to address water supply reliability in the long term," said Chris Coburn, executive director of the Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County, which is helping to oversee the projects.

PROP 84

More than $2.2 million of the funds come from a Prop 84 stormwater management fund, with local jurisdictions kicking in the rest through cash or in-kind services.

Scotts Valley is still finalizing three of the projects, but already has one large example up and running at a mixed-use development on the site of on old quarry on Scotts Valley Drive.

Beneath the Woodside complex's parking lot are numerous polyethylene cubes that form an infiltration tank. When it rains, surface runoff is captured and funneled toward vegetative bioswales, which feed the water to two underground infiltration galleries. From there, the water trickles down into the aquifer.

It is one example local water officials are exploring to help address a serious problem for a developed community situated between steep mountains and the Monterey Bay — how to plug water back into the environment, rather than see it trickle over concrete and asphalt and finally to the sea.

"It used to be that conservation was about using less water," said LeAnne Ravinale, water use efficiency coordinator for the Scotts Valley Water District. "But for areas that are dependent on water, we now want to hoard the water. We don't want it to go down the drain."

The Woodside project's impact is significant, saving at least 12 acre feet a year and possibly up to 24. But similar, smaller-scale projects are in effect — Aptos' Polo Grounds park has one example — or planned.

Next summer, the county plans to put some of the Prop 84 money to work at Brommer Street Park, where the geology makes it a good candidate for an infiltration project to replenish underground waters in the Purisima Formation between Santa Cruz and Aptos.

County Water Resources Director John Ricker said the plan is to use a bioswale and seepage pits to filter water back into the aquifer.

"The Purisima Formation is actually fairly close to the surface right there," Ricker said.

Purisima is one of the primary sources of water for the Soquel Creek Water District, which has severe and long-term water supply problems. Already, so much water is being pulled out of the aquifer that seawater is making an underground march inland, leading the agency to look for new sources.

But recharging aquifers isn't the only way the money is being put to use.

LOCAL PROJECTS

The county also is nearing construction on the Heart of Soquel Park, which will convert an area between a commercial strip and Soquel Creek into a community gathering space. The project includes creek restoration, rain gardens and permeable surfaces to allow water to filter into the ground.

Another approach is being contemplated by the city of Santa Cruz, which is hiring a consultant to look at resurfacing a downtown parking lot situated behind the Catalyst.

One possibility is to use permeable pavement, which allows water to soak into the ground before it has a chance to carry pollutants found in any urban runoff into the San Lorenzo River, which drains downtown Santa Cruz.

"That's the idea, we would capture as much of the stormwater as possible and sink it," said Suzanne Healy, an environmental projects analyst with the city.

But the site has several challenges, including a redwood tree, bamboo from an adjacent spa and serving as the loading dock for musical acts appearing at the Catalyst. Permeable surfaces may not stand up to heavy tour buses, forcing the city to balance Mother Nature against rock 'n' roll.

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• Clean Tech
• Stormwater
• Flood Modeling