Miscellaneous Monterey and San Luis Obispo County Documents and Reports

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  1881 - History of Monterey County from the Early Days Down to the Present Time

  The book provides a chronological look at early California and Monterey County history beginning in the 1500s up to 1880s, along with descriptions of the scenery, farms, residences, public buildings, factories, hotels, schools and churches. The book contains over 100 illustrations, maps, charts and diagrams. Biographical sketches of prominent Monterey County citizens are included.

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  1896, Jan. 19 - A New Water Supply Source, Castroville Lakes to Yield Eighty Million Gallons a Day, San Francisco Call, Vol. 79, No. 50.

  The San Francisco Call reported about a plan to supply water to San Francisco City and County, cities of San Jose and Oakland and the towns of Berkeley and Alameda through a pipeline from Castroville lake system located on Bolsa Nueva y Morocojo land. With the article, S. L. Hansborough, the engineer involved in the plan, filed as Appropriator and Locator, a Notice of Appropriation and Location for five thousand inches of water to sale for domestic use. The means to divert the water was by pumping water out of the Temblaldera Slough into pipes that would deliver the water to northern communities.

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  1901 - Soil Survey of the Lower Salinas Valley California, Macy H. Lapham and W. H. Heileman

  Prepared by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Soils, this report addresses the conditions found in the Lower Salinas Valley of Monterey County, California in 1901, including the development of agriculture, climate, geology, soil types, cultivation, irrigation. groundwater, and alkali found in the soil.

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  1915 - Monterey County, California - Lands for Wealth, Fruit for Health; Arthur Dunn

  It was the aim of this booklet to direct attention to the advantages and opportunities found in Monterey County in 1915 for those who were seeking homes. The hope was that the publication would induce further settlement, for there was a vast amount of territory awaiting development. A marketing publication prepared by Sunset Magazine Homeseekers' Bureau for the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, the publication described in detail the bountiful agricultural opportunities, especially when irrigation and pumping were utilized. The document contains a: 1) description of existing irrigation systems, as well as a vision for the future of irrigation and three proposed dams, 2) discussion of the crops and livestock produced in Monterey County, along with future agricultural opportunities; and 3) a description of the prosperous farming centers and coastal towns located in Monterey County.

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  1994 - Monterey County Water Resources Agency Ordinance 03790

  This ordinance provides for the management of all groundwater wells within the Castroville Seawater Intrusion Project area, known as Zone 2B, following the completion and start-up of the Castroville Seawater Intrusion Project. It prohibited and otherwise restricted pumping from groundwater wells in Zone 2B, and it provided for the classification of the various wells, for the maintenance and limited operation of standby wells, and for the destruction of abandoned wells, contaminated wells, wells that allow cross-contamination of aquifers in intruded areas, and other wells. The ordinance established a procedure for the destruction of wells, a variance procedure, an appeals procedure, and penalties for violations of the ordinance.

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  1998 - 2030 Land Use and Water Needs Conditions

  Documentation of the methodology and data used to estimate the land use, M&I water needs, and pumped agricultural water under the 2030 conditions. One of the primary goals of the Salinas River Basin Management Plan (BMP) is to meet the agricultural, and municipal and industrial water needs of the Valley under the existing conditions (1995 level of development) as well as, under the future conditions (2030 level of development), while stopping the seawater intrusion and balancing the hydrologic conditions in the basin. In order to meet the 2030 water needs, a reasonable estimate of land use and water use conditions is required.

  The major sources used to develop the future land use and water use estimates are as follows: MCWRA Ground Water Extraction Management System; MCWRA GIS Land Use Coverage; Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments and Salinas Valley Integrated Ground and Surface Water Model

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  1998 - Salinas Valley Water (Preliminary Analysis of) the Cause and Cost of Seawater Intrusion

  An analysis of the historical cause of seawater intrusion in the Pressure Area of Monterey County. An annual overdraft of groundwater resources near the coast coupled with a seasonal cycle of over pumping created a reversal in the groundwater gradient and associated cones of depression. "Marine intrusion has occurred in the 180-foot aquifer in recent years as a result of overdrafts." (Bulletin 52, 1946, p.27). The only overdrafts on groundwater in the Salinas Valley were in the East Side and Pressure Areas. "There was no shortage of groundwater in the remainder of the basin and no threat of deficiency under probable ultimate development." (Bulletin 52, 1946, p. 23)."

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  1999 - Salinas River Watershed Management Action Plan, Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board

  To more effectively protect and improve water resources, the Action Plan attempts to develop local solutions to local problems. Many significant identified water quality impacts in the Salinas River Watershed, such as erosion and sedimentation, nitrates in the groundwater and surface water, and older, discontinued pesticides in sediments and animal tissues, are primarily associated with nonpoint pollution sources. Also, widespread groundwater pumping contributes significantly to seawater intrusion into the coastal aquifers. The Action Plan approach includes: 1. devoting additional Regional Board resources to watershed activities, 2. increasing the Regional Board presence by developing partnerships with landowners, local governments, resource agencies and other stakeholders, 3. integrating existing Regional Board programs, and 4. improving internal communication and coordination to increase efficiency and provide better service to point source dischargers and others in the watershed.

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  1999 - Water Resources and Land Use Change in Salinas Valley, Watershed Institute Report No. WI-1999-01

  The 1999 report prepared by Fred Watson, Lars Pierce, Mel Mulitsch, Wendi Newman, Adrian Rocha, Mark Fain and Jodiah Nelson of the Watershed Institute, describes the progress made toward the use of computer modeling to provide both understanding and predictive capability. The Salinas River watershed of over 11,000 square kilometers supports large areas of intensive agriculture production, including large areas of intensive crop production, and extensive cattle ranches supporting annual grasslands. Mainly a dry climate with limited surface water resources, the valley has a finite groundwater system. Agriculture accounts for 93.5% of the groundwater extractions that exceed recharge by 40,000-50,000 acre feet per year (1999). Also, Nitrate fertilizer has contaminated the groundwater. Lower groundwater levels have allowed seawater to intrude several miles inland. The use of computer modeling provides the ability to predict the hydrological and ecological impacts of land use change, facilitates better-informed planning, detrimental changes can be avoided, and beneficial changes can be promoted.

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  2000 - A Line Through the Past – Historical and Ethnographic Background for the Branch Canal, California State Water Project, Coastal Branch Series Paper Number 1.

  This 2000 publication of the San Luis Obispo County Archaeological Society documents the major prehistoric and historic studies carried out in connection with the California State Water Project, Coastal Branch, Phase II. The State Water Project delivers water from the California Aqueduct to San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. The California Department of Parks and Recreation along with various cultural resource management firms, conducted the cultural resources studies and reports for the State Water Project.

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  2000 - Geology Bibliography of California, 1854–2000

  The scope of this database is much broader in scope than the original list of consultant reports submitted to Monterey County governmental agencies and includes extensive references on regional geologic mapping, hydrogeology, economic geology, and research done in connection with the Parkfield Earthquake Prediction Experiment.

  Major sources of information include:

  • Monterey County Planning Department: a database of approximately 2,000 references within the

  categories of geology, soil, water resources, and water quality.

  • Monterey County Water Resources Agency.

  • Monterey Peninsula Water Management District.

  • The American Geological Institute’s GeoRef database.

  • The U.S. Geological Survey’s National Geologic Map Database.

  • An online bibliography of research conducted in the northern Santa Lucia Mountains, Big Sur, and surrounding area published for the Santa Lucia Natural History Symposium (sponsored by Esalen Institute and University of California Big Creek Reserve, 1994–1997).

  • Library catalogs of the U.S. Geological Survey, University of California, California State University, Stanford University, and the California Institute of Technology.

  The list of nearly 4,300 references was prepared to further the County of Monterey's 21st Century General Plan Update in order to have the most complete data available for planning and policy decisions.

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  2003, April – Land Use History and Mapping in California’s Central Coast Region; Report No. WI-2003-03; Newman, W. B, Watson, F.G.R,

  Land use change has a long history in the region, which once held the State Capitol at Monterey. The region been transformed several times, following the introduction of Europeans and their grain crops in the 1800s, the development of groundwater-based irrigation in the late 1920s, and the expansion of vineyards and urban areas in more recent years.

  Land management must be aware of the history of the land, and of its current spatial state. The early chapters of this report review the major land use systems of the region and their history. The latter chapter presents a new remotely sensed land use map of the region. The report was prepared within the context of sediment source analyses (Watson et al., 2003). Reference is made to erosion from certain land types where appropriate.

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  2003 - Deep Aquifer Investigation - Hydrogeologic Data Inventory, Review, Interpretation and Implications

  The “deep aquifer” designation derives from the history of water resource development in Monterey County. Advancing seawater intrusion, first, in the 180-foot aquifer, and subsequently in the 400-foot aquifer, forced ground water users to progressively driller deeper to find fresh water. The first deep aquifer water well was drilled in 1976. In order to develop an improved understanding of the regional ground water resource, this technical memorandum attempts to integrate all available data on the aquifer systems underlying the 180- and 400-foot aquifers of the Salinas Valley. The available data set for the deep aquifer is scanty. These data are presented with preliminary conclusions based on the data available. The study area is centered on the service area of the Marina Coast Water District (MCWD).

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  2003 - Geohydrologic Framework of Recharge and Seawater Intrusion in the Pajaro Valley, Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties, California

  The Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency (PVWMA) must deal with issues of both water supply and water quality. Managing water resources for agricultural and municipal users requires maintaining a reliable water supply to meet growing demands while preventing ground-water overdraft and the related degradation of water quality. Important regional water-quality concerns include increased nitrate concentrations and seawater intrusion. To protect the quantity and quality of the ground-water supplies, the PVWMA has implemented a plan to prevent further seawater intrusion. In order to evaluate how these activities can be conducted most effectively, it is necessary to improve the understanding of the hydrogeology and geochemistry of the water resources in the Pajaro Valley.

  The Basin Management Plan (BMP) developed for the Pajaro Valley in 1993 (Montgomery Watson, 1993) continued to be refined to help provide reliable water resources. In order to effectively implement the BMP, it was necessary to identify the parts of the aquifer systems that were not in connection with sources of recent recharge, the parts of the aquifer system that are being actively recharged in the coastal regions and represent the renewable resource, and the sources and movement of the natural and artificial recharge and seawater intrusion.

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  2004 - Final Report, Hydrostratigraphic Analysis of the Northern Salinas Valley

  The Monterey County Water Resources Agency (Agency) is responsible for the management and planning of water resources within Monterey County The agency uses a network of wells to monitor groundwater conditions in the Salinas Valley ground water basin (Figure 1). The progressive advancement of the seawater intrusion front into groundwater zones and the understanding of the northern Salinas ground water basin hydrogeology have been documented by the Agency since the 1950s. Only since the late 1990s was there sufficient well logs, geophysical, and lithological data to support a three-dimensional (3-D) study of the inter-related ancestral fluvial and alluvial-fan depositional environments that make groundwater bearing zones known as the Pressure 180-Foot and Pressure 400-Foot aquifers and their implications on seawater intrusion pathways.

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  2006 - Monterey County Groundwater Management Plan

  Monterey County Water Resources Agency, recognizing that management of its natural water resources is critical to ensuring a long-term sustainable and reliable good quality water supply, prepared this Groundwater Management Plan (GWMP). The purpose of the GWMP was to provide a comprehensive overview of the Salinas Valley Groundwater Basin and to recommend various management strategies for the basin. The document provided the framework for the management of groundwater resources in the Salinas Valley Groundwater Basin (exclusive of the Seaside and Paso Robles subareas) and acted as a guidance document for future groundwater projects.

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  2006 - Monterey County Water Resources Agency - Reclamation Ditch Watershed Assessment and Management Strategy, Final Report

  The 2006 Watershed Assessment and Management Strategy was completed for the Reclamation Ditch Watershed in northern Monterey County, California, for Monterey County Water Resources Agency (MCWRA). The report provides an assessment of the Reclamation Ditch Watershed that incorporates the entire watershed above the Potrero Road tide gates (near Moss Landing) on the Old Salinas River Channel, excluding the influence from the Salinas River itself via the Old Salinas River Channel. The Reclamation Ditch Watershed thus includes the watersheds of: Tembladero Slough, Merritt Lake, Santa Rita Creek, Espinosa Lake,Gabilan Creek, Natividad Creek, Alisal Slough and Alisal Creek.

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  2006 - Salinas Valley Integrated Regional Water Management Functionally Equivalent Plan Summary Document UPDATE

  The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) are encouraging local and regional water management planners to establish integrated regional water management plans through the collaboration of planning efforts and project coordination. The intent is to encourage planners to implement projects focused on meeting multiple water resources needs on a regional basis. Jointly, both agencies are soliciting grant applications for Proposition 50 Chapter 8 grant funding, which was established to provide a fiscal tool to support integrated regional water management. In order to take advantage of this funding opportunity, Monterey County Water Resources Agency (MCWRA), Marina Coast Water District (MCWD), and Castroville Water District (CWD) have formed the Salinas Valley Water Management Group to spearhead regional planning for the Salinas Valley Region of Monterey County.

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  2008 - San Antonio and Nacimiento Rivers Watershed Management Plan

  The purpose of the San Antonio and Nacimiento Rivers Watersheds Management Plan is to identify the existing conditions of and stresses in these watersheds as they relate to water quality, and recommend methods for reducing or eliminating those stressors such as alternative land use practices. The plan was created to:

  􀂃 The reservoirs and their respective watersheds are the source for water recharging the Salinas Valley groundwater basin.

  􀂃 There is a direct correlation between the health of these watersheds and the supply and quality of water for the Salinas Valley.

  􀂃 The Salinas Valley’s population and economy are dependent on a long-term supply of high quality water from those watersheds, and on protection from floods.

  􀂃 The reservoirs also provide ancillary benefits of recreation and habitat enhancement.

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  2009 – Historical Ecology Reconnaissance for the Lower Salinas River, Erin Beller, Robin Grossinger and Alison Whipple

  This report summarizes the results of an initial study of historical conditions (i.e., prior to significant Euro- American modification) on the lower Salinas River (downstream of Arroyo Seco). The Salinas River was a dynamic and complex system with a broad array of habitat types. The research suggests that there may be significant potential for increasing the ecological services of the Salinas River through restoration of historical patterns among habitat types.

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  2010 - Excerpt from Master Response 4 - Water Supply re Salinas Valley Water Supply (10-28-10)

  In addition to the Master Response to the Monterey County General Plan pertaining to the analysis of the Salinas Valley water supply, tables and figures referenced in the response are included at the end of the response. This document is for informational purposes only to provide a summary of information relative to the Salinas Valley water supply analysis contained in the Final EIR.

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  2011 - Agricultural Resources Evaluation Handbook, Monterey County, California

  The Agricultural Resources Evaluation Handbook synthesizes three historic context statements devoted to historic agricultural resources in Monterey County’s North County Planning Area, Salinas Valley and the South County Planning Area with a goal of prioritizing the identification, evaluation, registration and treatment of certain historic properties and making the process an integral component of land use planning.

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  2011 - California GAMA Special Study - Nitrate Fate and Transport in Salinas Valley - Final Report

  This study is one in a series of special studies that address the fate and transport of nitrate in basins where groundwater is the main source of water for both irrigation and public drinking water supply under the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program managed by the California State Water Resources Control Board.

  The Salinas Valley, known as ‘the salad bowl of the world’, has been an agricultural center for more than 100 years. Irrigated row crops such as lettuce and strawberries dominate both land use and water use in the valley. The most common water quality issue that arises from this type of intensive agriculture is contamination of groundwater by nitrate from fertilizers. This study focuses on three key aspects of nitrate fate and transport in the Salinas Valley groundwater basin: 1) establishing background conditions for nitrate in a comparatively un‐impacted portion of the basin, 2) examining the fate and transport of nitrate near the recharging Salinas River, and 3) determining the source of nitrate in a highly impacted drinking water well.

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  2011 - Economic Contributions of Monterey County Agriculture

  This report analyzed Monterey County agriculture’s total contribution to the local economy. The findings offered the fullest picture yet of agriculture’s economic role. This report should be of interest to policymakers, the public, and anyone who values a vibrant local economy.

  The calculations were drawn from local and national sources. Local sources include annual Crop Reports and industry experts. Local experts included local economists, agriculture industry organizations, and the 13-person Agricultural Advisory Committee for Monterey County that provided input into the research. National data sources included federal government statistics and a widely used economic modeling program called IMPLAN. Except where otherwise noted, all figures are from the year 2009.

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  2012 - Historic American Landscapes Survey - Mission San Antonio de Padua

  The intent of this report was to summarize existing written histories of the site and to document the existing conditions of the physical and cultural landscape at the Mission, This report focused on the viewshed and overall physical and cultural landscape of Mission San Antonio de Padua and its surroundings. There are no drawings of the site included in this documentation nor was the precise location and species of each plant type within the study area have not been documented or recorded. The study area encompasses approximately 650 acres.