1. A new seawater intrusion alternative was presented. The Salinas Basin Water Alliance (SBWA) proposed replacing agricultural pumping in an area largely between Salinas and the CSIP service area, including wells in Salinas’s sphere of influence, with deliveries from a well field between Gonzales and Somavia Road. Most deep-aquifer agricultural wells would go offline, although a few west of the river would remain. The concept includes approximately 50 extraction wells across the 180-foot, 400-foot and deep aquifers. Surplus water would be injected into the 180-foot and 400-foot aquifers through an initial configuration of 37 injection wells.
Initial modeling presented by Dr. Bob Abrams of Aqualogic suggests the concept could substantially reduce the seawater-intruded area in the 180-foot aquifer. In the 400-foot aquifer, some areas improved, but intrusion still advanced elsewhere and the overall affected area increased slightly. Further work on injection locations and rates is underway.
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