Memorandum
Date: December 9, 2025
To: The Honorable Lake County Board of Supervisors serving as the Directors of the Lake County Watershed Protection District
From: Dr. Pawan Upadhyay, Director, and Todd Abbott, Program Coordinator, Water Resources Department
Subject: (Sitting as the Board of Directors for the Lake County Watershed Protection District) Adopt Resolution Approving the Acceptance of General Fund Grants for the Evaluation of Aquifer Conditions in Scotts Valley
Executive Summary:
The Lake County Water Resources Department is requesting the Board of Supervisors, acting as the Directors of the Lake County Watershed Protection District (District), adopt the resolution approving the acceptance of general fund grant in the amount of $80,000 from the CNRA for the evaluation of Aquifer Conditions in Scotts Valley.
This project will evaluate the local aquifer conditions and storage potential in Scotts Valley, an important agricultural region, and home to 7,000 residents in Lake County. The Scotts Valley aquifer is also the source of municipal water for approx. 5,000 residents of Lakeport, so evaluating the groundwater resources, including potential storage increases within the aquifer, are important priorities for our department, and the County.
Maintaining and enhancing Scotts Valley groundwater resources will also provide benefits to the local environment by allowing surface water to stay in Clear Lake, providing additional ecosystem services and improving the overall health of the system. Local groundwater resources will be assessed regarding the aquifer system, streams, creeks, groundwater dependent ecosystems, current groundwater pumpers, and inflows into Clear Lake.
Along with evaluating the present storage and future capacity of the basin, there is also a need to better characterize the flow from Scotts Creek aquifer into Clear Lake. To better understand the groundwater flow between this shallow aquifer system and Clear Lake, three shallow (less than 50 feet deep) one- or two-inch monitoring wells will be installed. Depth to groundwater levels and water quality samples will be collected and analyzed, and groundwater level data will be utilized to enhance the calibration of the groundwater flow model.
The Scotts Valley Aquifer project will utilize the existing Big Valley Integrated Hydrologic Model (BVIHM) to assess conditions and future pumping scenarios in Scotts Valley. Local information will be used to refine the Scotts Valley portion of the BVIHM. Current conditions, including inflows, outflows, and aquifer storage will be assessed during WY 2015-2021 based on the BVIHM model outputs.
The overarching intent of this project is to expand our knowledge of aquifer conditions within Scotts Valley, with the goal of using the study and expanded data to more accurately shape policy and management decisions within the basin, and the region.
Therefore, staff requests the District's approval of the grant resolution for the Aquifer Conditions project in Scotts Valley.
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Recommended Action: (Sitting as the Board of Directors for the Lake County Watershed Protection District) Adopt Resolution Approving the Acceptance of General Fund Grants for the Evaluation of Aquifer Conditions in Scotts Valley.