Water District Unveils First New Well in 20 Years

In an effort to protect the Soquel Creek Water District water supply from seawater intrustion, five new wells have been planned in the area.

The first of those five was began functioning last week at the Santa Cruz County Polo Grounds, becoming the first new water source for the district in over 20 years. 

"Currently, the District relies solely on groundwater pumped with wells from underground aquifers to supply water to its customers," the district said in a prepared statement. "The new well is the first of five planned that will allow the District reduce the amount of water being pumped from wells near the coast to help protect our community’s groundwater supply from seawater intrusion."

Over 40 people including County Supervisor Ellen Pirie and Soquel Creek Water District Board members Bruce Daniels, Dan Kriege and Don Hoernschemeyer, attended the unveiling of the new well. 

According to Soquel Creek Water District, here are the raw numbers on the new well:

• 380 feet deep
• Pumping capacity of 392 acre feet per year
• $2,065,293 in grant funding for the well from Proposition 50
• A total cost of $4,091,000

Over the next 20 years, aquifer pumping needs to be reduced by 35 percent to minimize the risk of seawater intrustion. Redistributing the pumping away from the coast will aid in this effort, according to the district.

See photos of the unveiling of the new well above.