The proposed project will build on the work of the Watershed Coordinators by providing the funds for willing agricultural landowners and growers to lead, with project partners, an effort that assesses the benefits and constraints for repurposing agricultural land to uses consistent with the Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program, Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, and local plans and policies, and begin implementation (land acquisition, planning, and design) of projects prioritized from this effort.

The repurposing goals and objectives will build on the goals and project concepts that have been evaluated, compiled and integrated within three key planning documents: 2018 Greater Monterey County IRWM Plan, 2019 Greater Monterey County Storm Water Resource Plan, and 2020/2022 Salinas Groundwater Sustainability Plans. Through the guidance of these documents, the Watershed Coordinators have successfully worked with four key partners – Central Coast Wetlands Group (CCWG), City of Salinas, Salinas Valley Basin GSA, and the Greater Monterey County IRWM Regional Water Management Group – to develop multi-benefit water resource management objectives that benefit water resources and the agricultural community. Landowners and growers will work with the Watershed Coordinators and project partners to co-define repurposing locations and potential benefits including flood risk reduction and attenuation, direct and in-lieu recharge, water conservation, and water quality improvement.

The project will create a new, watershed-based SWRP for the Greater Monterey County IRWM Region that will meet all requirements of Water Code §10560 et seq. and SWRP Guidelines. The lead applicant is Coastal Conservation and Research, Inc. a nonprofit organization. The plan will be developed on behalf of the Monterey County Resource Management Agency, which administers the Phase II NPDES permit for unincorporated urbanized areas. Watershed boundaries include the Salinas River (within Monterey County, 2,490 sq mi) and Alisal-Elkhorn Sloughs watersheds (232 sq mi). The project will include metrics-based quantitative analyses of hydrologic, topographic, and environmental conditions and opportunities, which will provide a framework for identifying and evaluating implementation projects to include in the SWRP. The resulting SWRP will describe and prioritize multi-benefit implementation projects to achieve water supply, water quality, flood control, environment, and community objectives.

• Link to Final Plan

CCWG has played an active role in the development, drafting and implementation of the Greater Monterey County IRWMP. This includes taking part in all Regional Water Management Group meetings, drafting chapters of the Plan, and implementing projects.

Integrated regional water management (IRWM) is an approach to water management that is being strongly promoted by State water managers and legislators as a way to increase regional self-sufficiency. IRWM encourages local water resource managers to take a proactive, leadership role in solving water management problems on a local level through collaborative regional planning. This regional approach is considered necessary in order for water managers to be able to cope with the impending water management challenges ahead.

• Link to Plan

One important effort that CCWG has coordinated is the Water Resource Project Coordination (WRPC) process. The WRPC process represents an innovative approach through the Integrated Regional Water Management Plan (IRWMP) aimed at addressing and resolving water-related conflicts in the region, while promoting stakeholder collaboration and project integration. The goal of the WRPC process was to alleviate areas of mistrust and confusion and increase collaborative dialogue so that mutual solutions could be achieved.

The Gabilan Watershed was selected as the focus area for this pilot project, as a majority of Monterey County projects were proposed there. A series of facilitated stakeholder meetings followed. A decision was made to focus on identifying “shared values” in the Gabilan Watershed rather than moving directly to trying to find solutions to areas of disagreement. The stakeholder meeting in January 2013 began with the participants anonymously sharing their understanding of the challenges facing the region. In this way the “elephants in the room” were brought out into the open without individuals needing to self-identify as proponents or opponents. Then participants were divided into “affinity groups,” including agriculture, research, conservation, and government. Each group was asked to discuss amongst themselves their priorities for the watershed. Each participant was asked to create a visual image of their “desired future” for the watershed, its characteristics, and what they saw to be the key obstacles and opportunities for success. Finally, the discussion was turned to solutions. From the groups’ images and discussion, it became clear that there was actually more common ground amongst stakeholders than anticipated.

Based on the outcomes of the January 2013 stakeholder meeting, the WRPC Committee determined that the challenges to “making progress” in the Gabilan Watershed had less to do with a lack of information (e.g., scientific data) and more to do with funding constraints and other barriers. The challenges spanned such a large range of topics that the Committee felt a comprehensive “umbrella” was needed to pull it all together. That umbrella is what they termed the “Gabilan Watershed Blueprint.” The Gabilan Watershed Blueprint was envisioned as a process to address some of the major hurdles that have slowed and prevented progress in resolving problems related to water quality, and to a lesser extent flooding, in the Gabilan Watershed. The Gabilan Watershed Blueprint has four main “sections,” designed to address some of the regional challenges and opportunities expressed during the January 2013 stakeholder meeting. The final Blueprint document is available on the IRWMP website. The four Blueprint sections are 1) The Landscape Strategy, 2) On-Farm Solutions, 3) Corporate Social Responsibility, and 4) Agency Coordination

• Link to WRPC page on the IRWMP website
• Link to Blueprint Document