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PRESS RELEASE. From Montara Water and Sanitary District (MSWD), December/January Newsletter.
Our Unique Local Water Supply 25 Years of Monitoring Our Alta Vista Well Source In 2003, the Montara Moss Beach community voted to purchase the private water system serving our community. That system needed significant investment in repairs and maintenance, and additional local water supplies were needed to serve the community.
Investing in new supplies was MWSD’s critical first step after purchase of the private water system. Reliant on our Montara Creek water and existing well sources, this meant an intense study of potential locations for new wells. With over 12 well sites investigated (including environmental reviews!), MWSD moved forward with drilling our Alta Vista Well.
A Unique Aquifer, A Unique Source
The Alta Vista Well is drilled deep into a solid bedrock of granite (deeply weathered granitic rock to be precise!) Montara Water & Sanitary District Staying Ahead of our Local Community Needs unlike most drinking water wells in California that are in aquifers (areas of underground water) in non-consolidated sediments (frequently sand or gravel!).
Our 720+ foot well gathers water from fractures within the granite for our supplies. Given this deep well and fracture source, usual aquifer draw down and recovery tests are not suited to evaluate well production rates or pumping sustainability. Given this unusual source, MWSD was required to monitor well operations and the groundwater aquifer for first 5 years of Alta Vista operation.
MWSD chose to extend this monitoring beyond the first 5 years and has expanded the program to increase understanding of our local source.
Confirmed Supply, Unique Science
Since the start of pumping in 2007, the Alta Vista Well has been pumped at an average (continuous) rate of 68 gpm or 110 acre-feet per year. We confirmed that non-glaciated, deeply weathered granitic rock promotes recharge, provides storage and sustains flows. Recently, MWSD and our consultant Balanced Hydrologics were featured speakers at the Fifth Annual Western Groundwater Congress providing a critical update on Sustainable Management of a Fractured Granitic Aquifer in Coastal California. Understanding our local water source means better science for us and our industry!
Novedades para usted: nuestro abasto local único de agua – 25 años de monitorear la fuente de nuestro pozo en Alta Vista
Nuestro abasto local único de agua 25 años de monitorear la fuente de nuestro pozo en Alta Vista En 2003, la comunidad de Montara Moss Beach votó para comprar el sistema privado de agua que abastece a nuestra comunidad. Ese sistema requirió de una inversión considerable en reparaciones y mantenimiento, y fue necesario contar con abastecimientos locales adicionales de agua para atender a la comunidad.
Invertir en los nuevos abastecimientos fue la primera y crucial medida del MWSD después de comprar el sistema privado de agua. Al depender de nuestra agua en Montara Creek y de las fuentes existentes, tuvimos que estudiar intensivamente las posibles ubicaciones de los nuevos pozos. Tras investigar más de 12 ubicaciones de pozos (estudios ambientales incluidos), el MWSD procedió a perforar nuestro pozo en Alta Vista.
Un acuífero único, un abastecimiento único
La profunda perforación del pozo de Alta Vista se llevó a cabo en un sólido lecho de granito (roca granítica considerablemente erosionada, para ser precisos), a diferencia de la mayoría de los pozos de agua apta para consumo humano en California, que se encuentran en acuíferos (mantos de agua subterránea) en sedimentos no consolidados (por lo general, de arena o grava).
Nuestro pozo de más de 720 pies recolecta agua de la fracturación del lecho de granito para abastecernos.
Debido a la profundidad del pozo y la fracturación de la fuente, las pruebas habituales de agotamiento y recuperación de acuíferos no son idóneas para evaluar las tasas de producción ni la sostenibilidad del bombeo. Dado lo singular de nuestra fuente, el MWSD tuvo que monitorear las operaciones del pozo y el acuífero de agua subterránea durante los primeros 5 años de funcionamiento del pozo en Alta Vista. El MWSD decidió prolongar este monitoreo más allá de los primeros 5 años, y amplió el programa para favorecer el entendimiento de nuestra fuente local de agua.
Abasto confirmado, ciencia única
Desde el inicio de las operaciones de bombeo en 2007, el pozo de Alta Vista funciona a una tasa promedio (continua) de 68 gpm o 110 acres-pie al año. Pudimos confirmar que la roca granítica no glaciar y considerablemente erosionada promueve la recarga, proporciona un medio de almacenamiento y da sustentabilidad al flujo. Recientemente, el MWSD y Balanced Hydrologics, la entidad consultora que colabora con nosotros, enviaron ponentes al Quinto Congreso Anual de Aguas Subterráneas en el Oeste para presentar una actualización de importancia crucial sobre la Gestión Sustentable de un Acuífero en Roca Granítica Fracturada en la Costa Californiana. Comprender la singularidad de nuestra fuente de agua local fomenta una mejor ciencia, para nosotros y para nuestra industria.
Montara Water’s Alta Vista Well Consultant Uses Science to Determine Groundwater Response to Rain and Drawdown Seeking Future Sustainability
Montara Water (MWSD) Receives Report on “How to Reach a Sustainability Pumping Rate for the Alta Vista Well”
More on Montara Water and Sanitary District on Coastside Buzz
Montara Water and Sanitary District (MWSD) Meetings ~ 1st & 3rd Thursdays @ 7:30pm
From left: Peter Dekker, Kathrine Slater-Carter, Chair Scott Boyd, Bill Softkey and Cid Young.
Watch remotely. Comments and questions by email.
Agendas and Zoom Live Meeting Links
If you experience technical difficulties or have technical questions prior to or during the meeting, please contact MWSD’s IT support at (650) 728-7843.
Meeting Videos
Meeting Schedule:
Regular meetings are 7:30pm on the first and third Thursday of each month. They used to held at the District office at 8888 Cabrillo Hwy, next to Pt Montara Lighthouse and Hostel.
To receive agendas by email, send a request to [email protected]
In addition to email, we post agendas before each board meeting:
- On the District website here
- Montara post office
- Moss Beach post office
- the bulletin board in front of the MWSD office
Who is on the Board of Directors?
The Board of Directors manages the affairs of the District. Through their bi-monthly meetings they set policy, enact appropriate resolutions or ordinances, approve all payments to vendors, review and approve the budget, set Sewer Service Charge rates, establish connection charges, hire staff, approve contracts and other necessary actions needed to carry out the business of the District.
There are five Board members, all of whom are elected at large, and must reside in the Montara or Moss Beach area. The current Board is as follows:
| DIRECTOR | TERM |
|---|---|
| Scott Boyd — President | Term 2020-2024 |
| Peter Dekker — Treasurer | Term 2020-2026 |
| Kathryn Slater-Carter — Secretary | Term 2020-2024 |
| Bill Softky — Director | Term 2022-2026 |
| Carlysle Ann (Cid) Young— Director | Term 2023-2024 |
All Board members may be reached by sending an email to [email protected].
Or writing the District office at: Montara Water and Sanitary District, P.O. Box 370131, Montara, CA 94037. Telephone: (650)728-3545; FAX (650)728-8556.
General Manager
Clemens Heldmaier (650)728-3545 email
MSWD General Manager Clemens Heldmaier showing a creek filtration system.
Author: mdrag
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The above is only a brief summary of an excellent, ongoing effort to understand and monitor water sources for the necessarily self-sustaining MWSD. I was unaware of all that has been going on long-term to understand the geologic nature of the water resources that supply our towns, understanding that is necessary to reasonably forecast adequate water supplies for all residents, businesses, and public schools and other facilities during the driest of times to come. Any district citizens who are not afraid of a few numbers or geologic information owe it to themselves to listen to the full presentation to the board by the consultant. Listen to it twice if the oral delivery of the consultant is a little choppy for you. This is the kind of stuff that is only available around here from an independent special district free of partisan politics and the influence of developer and builder money.