Soquel Creek Water District receives $30 million for groundwater replenishment

The Bureau of Reclamation has awarded the Soquel Creek Water District $30 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to advance the Pure Water Soquel Groundwater Replenishment and Seawater Intrusion Prevention Project. The project will provide a sustainable alternative water supply to address the critically over-drafted Santa Cruz Mid-County Groundwater Basin and preventing further seawater intrusion.

Pure Water Soquel will take treated, recycled municipal wastewater and use advanced water treatment methods to produce up to 1,500 acre-feet of purified water annually. The purified water will then be sent to seawater intrusion prevention/recharge wells to replenish the critically over-drafted Santa Cruz Mid-County Groundwater Basin, which is one of 21 basins in California that have been mandated to be brought into sustainability by 2040.

“This award from the Bureau of Reclamation is a significant show of support for the Pure Water Soquel project,” said Carla Christensen, President of the District’s Board of Directors. “We are extremely grateful for this $30 million grant, which is a tremendous boost to our local water reuse efforts. This project will prevent seawater intrusion, recharge our groundwater basin and provide our region with a drought-resilient, clean, and sustainable water supply.”

Learn more about Pure Water Soquel at www.purewatersoquel.com.