These are projects we were involved with, but are now archived, including:

• Hybrid Regional Plan
• Aromas Water District
• Regional Desalination Projects
• Coastal Water Projects
• Other Issues

• LandWatch Updates Hybrid Regional Plan
  LandWatch has developed an updated hybrid plan to address regional water supply issues in light of new information. Several local organizations have endorsed this plan already. (03.30.12)
• LandWatch supports the Hybrid Regional Water Plan at the CA Public Utilities Commission Hearing
  On July 13th LandWatch and a group of environmental groups testified at the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) hearing that took place right in Monterey’s City Hall. We presented the Hybrid Regional Water Plan as the environmentally superior alternative to the Coastal Water Project. Below is the LandWatch letter submitted to the PUC administrative law judge, Judge Minkin, and Commissioner John Bohn. (07.19.09)
• Plan: Hybrid Regional Water Plan: The Environmentally Superior Alternative
  LandWatch and a group of community stakeholders developed a Hybrid Regional Water Plan, endorsed to date by the League of Women Voters of the Monterey Peninsula, the Prunedale Neighbors Group, the Carmel Valley Association, and the Ventana Chapter of the Sierra Club. (07.10.09)

• Letter: LandWatch Comments Sphere of Influence Expansion
  LandWatch commented that the proposed delivery of water is an illegal appropriation/export out of the overdrafted groundwater Pajaro Valley Groundwater Basin to Via del Sol. Neither PVWMA nor Monterey County has the authority to grant approval for the out-of-basin transfer of Pajaro Valley Groundwater into the Moro Cojo/Salinas Valley Watershed. The PVWMA authorizing statue prohibits out of basin transfers, and there is no justification under California law or CEQA that allows PVWMA to ignore the overlying rights of Pajaro Valley landowners. (12.10.11)
• Letter: LandWatch Comments Aromas Water District’s Annexation Proposal (112K PDF)
  LandWatch sent a letter to the Aromas Water District and LAFCO on November 22, 2011 regarding AWD’s Sphere of Influence (SOI) amendment to add approximately 1,720 acres within the District’s SOI boundary within Monterey County. We raised questions about the legality of the proposed delivery of water out of the overdrafted groundwater Pajaro Valley Groundwater Basin to Via del Sol. (11.22.11)

• Letter: LandWatch and Others Support a Contingency Plan for the Regional Project
  LandWatch sent a letter to the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District supporting the request of the Carmel Valley Association Water Committee to pursue a contingency plan in case the Regional Desalination Projects stalls. (05.18.11)

• Letter: LandWatch Submits Comments on Late Addendum
  LandWatch submitted technical comments to the County Board of Supervisors on the Regional Water Project EIR Addendum for the Test Well Program.  LandWatch pointed out that the Addendum was released very late to the public, giving a limited amount of time to review the document. Additionally, a new environmental impact report is required under the California Environmental Quality Act rather than an Addendum to the existing one. (05.05.11)
• Issues related to regional water project and settlement/financial agreement developed by the LWV/MP, LandWatch, Sierra Club and Carmel Valley Association
  In order to help you better understand LandWatch’s concerns with the Regional Project and related Settlement Agreements (as currently proposed), a list of issues was developed by the League of Women Voters of the Monterey Peninsula, LandWatch, Sierra Club, and the Carmel Valley Association. (06.26.10)
• What’s new with the Coastal Water Project?
  On December 17, 2009, The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) certified the 3,100 page Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for the Coastal Water Project. Certification (finding the document adequate) was originally scheduled for January 2010, but the action was expedited to December presumably to enable local agencies to use the document for their actions. (02.05.10)
• Letter: LandWatch Partners on Final EIR Letters for the Coastal Water Project
  LandWatch Monterey County recently submitted a letter to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on the final environmental impact report (FEIR) for the Coastal Water Project. LandWatch is very concerned about the potential growth-inducing impacts of the project and the potential impacts on North County’s water supply. (02.05.10)
• Letter: LandWatch Comments on the Project’s Draft EIR
  LandWatch Monterey County recently submitted a comment letter on the Coastal Water Project’s Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR). It is our hope that Monterey County can soon begin to solve our critical water supply problems. (04.24.09)

• Senate Approves Wolk’s Groundwater Bill
  This week the Senate approved two groundwater bills offered by Senator Lois Wolk.  One bill addresses cities and counties with high and medium priority basins to set up a permit process by 2018.  The other bans drilling new wells in the 21 critically overdrafted basins in California. (06.02.16)
• Wolk’s Groundwater Bill Moving Forward
  State Senator Lois Wolk (Davis) authored a bill to protect our groundwater and aquifer basins from permanent damage due to overdraft. It was recently heard by the Natural Resources and Water Committee and was approved 6-2. The bill, SB 1317, if approved, would protect aquifers by requiring cities and counties overlying high- and medium-priority basins to apply conditions to permits for new wells by July 1, 2017. (04.17.16)
• Salinas Valley Groundwater Basin Survey
  We just sent an email out with three options to participate in the Salinas Valley Groundwater Basin survey. Since we can’t link to all three… here is a link to the email with the options. Please participate as it helps influence the outcome. It is due by Friday, December 4th. (11.19.15)
• Monterey County Water Supply Summary
  LandWatch and the Monterey Peninsula League of Women Voters’ summary of water supply projects for Monterey County. (10.21.08)
• Letter: New Subdivisions Could Be Allowed To Make Overdraft Worse
  Current County policy prevents new subdivisions in areas of groundwater overdraft. The Board of Supervisors is being asked to change that rule. Read the LandWatch letter for the full story. (06.02.03)