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Monterey County seeks water balance with dams, recycling

Posted by: Maven on March 13, 2010 at 7:28 am

From the Salinas Californian:

“Imagine flooding a football field with 9 inches of water.

That’s an acre-foot of water, or 325,851 gallons. It’s enough to take 8,000 baths and to meet the household needs of three typical Salinas Valley families for a year.

In 2008, Monterey County drew approximately 527,000 acre-feet of water from the ground. More than 90 percent of that watered agricultural crops, according to a 2008 report from the Monterey County Water Resources Agency. Those numbers have held steady for the past 15 years.

Since the 1930s, farmers have been pumping too much water from the ground to irrigate fields of artichokes, strawberries and other crops that form the backbone of the county’s economy. Decades of over-pumping lowered ground water levels and pulled seawater 6 miles inland, said Doug Smith, a hydrogeologist who studies local water issues at California State University, Monterey Bay. … “

Continue reading this article from the Salinas Californian by clicking here.

March 13, 2010 · Filed Under Central Coast

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