Posted on: September 1, 2023
Strengthening the Foundation: Recognizing Board Legacy, Welcoming a New Board Member, and Celebrating Employee Promotions
As Soquel Creek Water District embarks on an exciting new chapter in its history, it recognizes the achievements of a departing board...
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Water Wisdom
Posted on: August 1, 2023
Parents and teachers know that children learn best when they are engaged with the subject being taught. A proven method to get them engaged is through entertainment and direct interaction – the two main ingredients in the Water Education Assembl...
Read more on assemblies...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: July 1, 2023
The WaterSmart program is an easy way for Soquel Creek Water District customers to track usage and help use our limited water resources wisely. WaterSmart provides customers with a modern digital portal to access detailed information about household water...
Read more about WaterSmart...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: June 1, 2023
Pure Water Soquel (PWS) construction has been underway since Spring 2021. Pure Water Soquel will:
- Replenish the local groundwater basin to prevent further seawater intrusion, and be a sustainable water supply that meets the community’s goals and ...
Read more about Pure Water soquel...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: May 1, 2023
The torrential rainfall and record-setting snow of the past winter did much to alleviate California’s three-year drought. However, unlike most of the state, all of our water in the mid-Santa Cruz region comes from rainfall that percolates into the ground ...
Read more about the groundwater report
Water Wisdom
Posted on: April 1, 2023
The arrival of spring brings a host of welcome signs – warmer weather, blossoms, baseball, and the celebration of Earth Day. The Soquel Creek Water District (District) would like to take this opportunity to recognize our customers and local comm...
Read more on Earth Day...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: March 1, 2023
By:Rebecca Rubin, Public Outreach Coordinator, Soquel Creek Water DistrictEileen Cross, Community Relations, Santa Cruz Water Department
Despite the downpours, flooding, and battering rains of December and January, it is too soon to declare an end to the m...
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Water Wisdom
Posted on: February 1, 2023
This winter, our community has been greatly impacted by the storms, heavy rains, atmospheric rivers, and winds, which were a stark contrast to the multi-year droughts that we experience on a regular basis. As we all know, one rainy season doesn&...
Read more to see our list of songs..
Water Wisdom
Posted on: January 1, 2023
By Carla Christensen, President, Soquel Creek Water District Board of Directors
I am honored to welcome a New Year and begin my first term as Board President of the Soquel Creek Water District. We enter 2023 with a list of goals and objectives th...
Read more about CARE...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: December 1, 2022
By Dr. Tom LaHue, President, Soquel Creek Water District Board of Directors
As we approach the end of 2022, I want to say that I sincerely hope it has been a good year for you – our customers, community members, and all who read this article and ...
Read more of the December Water Wisdom column...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: November 1, 2022
The holidays are just around the corner! Does it feel like 2022 has just flown by incredibly quickly? Suddenly, Thanksgiving is approaching – a time when many people take a pause to appreciate family and friends and renew our gratitude for the m...
Read more of the November Water Wisdom column...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: October 3, 2022
We’re thrilled to let you know that a mini-documentary focusing on the District’s Pure Water Soquel project was released last month as part of the international online series, “Beneath the Surface: The Journey of Water.&r...
Read more about the series and watch the film..
Water Wisdom
Posted on: August 1, 2022
Funds will help implement elements of the Groundwater Sustainability Plan
This month we are thrilled to report some really great news! In May, the California Department of Water Resources Sustainable Groundwater Management Grant Program awarded ...
Read more about the MGA grant...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: July 1, 2022
Early this year, the District initiated an update of its Strategic Plan, which consists of the District’s Mission Statement, Values, and Primary Organizational Goals. These are the guiding documents that help assure we maintain a path that aligns with our...
Read more on the strategic plan update..
Water Wisdom
Posted on: June 1, 2022
Pure Water Soquel Construction Update: The Future of Water is Being Built Now!
Construction is underway on the Pure Water Soquel Groundwater Replenishment and Seawater Intrusion Prevention Project—and every day of work brings the community one st...
Read on more about Pure Water Soqul...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: May 1, 2022
The Santa Cruz Mid-County Groundwater Basin (Basin) is an essential source of drinking water for our local communities. In addition to being the sole source of water for the Soquel Creek Water District, the water in this basin is shared by the City of San...
Read more about the Basin...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: April 1, 2022
We have just experienced the very dry months of January, February, and now also into March. These are months that should bring some of the highest rainfall of the season. The heavy rain last December was most welcome—but it doesn’t change the fact that we...
Read more on climate change...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: March 11, 2022
What comes to mind when you think of the month of March? For most people, this month is most often associated with St. Patrick’s Day, the start of spring (or the spring equinox), “March Madness” college basketball, and settin...
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Water Wisdom
Posted on: February 1, 2022
Here it is, February already! It’s the month with Valentine’s Day, which brings to mind that love is something that’s all around us, every day; it’s present throughout the world; it’s part of our daily liv...
Read more...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: January 1, 2022
By Dr. Tom LaHue, President, Soquel Creek Water District Board of Directors
Welcome to 2022, from the Soquel Creek Water District! As your new President of the District’s Board of Directors, it’s my pleasure to offer a brief look at some of what we anticip...
Read more from Board President Lahue...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: December 1, 2021
By Rachél Lather, President, Soquel Creek Water District Board of Directors
Another year is soon coming to a close – already! We’re in the midst of the holiday rush, but as we approach the new year I want to briefly pa...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: November 1, 2021
Thanksgiving and the holidays are quickly approaching! Despite (or perhaps because of) the challenges and difficulties of the last year-plus, it’s nice to bring to mind and share some of the things for which we’re grateful.
Doing this can be a h...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: October 1, 2021
In 1961, the world was a remarkably different place than it is today…how different was it? Here are some examples: President John F. Kennedy held the first-ever televised presidential news conference; the Dow-Jones average reached a high of 734; the avera...
Read more about the 60th Anniversary...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: September 1, 2021
In order to provide the community with high-quality, clean water day-in and day-out, the Soquel Creek Water District takes great care in maintaining its infrastructure. The elements of this infrastructure include pump stations to wells, water meters to st...
Read on about Soquel Main Replacement..
Water Wisdom
Posted on: August 1, 2021
Every August is National Water Quality Month, and it’s a great opportunity to remind ourselves of how important clean, high-quality water is every day, to every person, to our environment and wildlife, and to our entire planet. Especially in a d...
Read on more about Water Quality Month.
Water Wisdom
Posted on: July 1, 2021
Recurring droughts are something we’ve all learned to live with here in California, and unfortunately, this year is shaping up to be one of the worst. As of last month, 94% of California is reported to be in a "severe" (or worse) droug...
Read the July Water Wisdom column
Water Wisdom
Posted on: June 1, 2021
The Soquel Creek Water District’s Pure Water Soquel project has three primary elements: water treatment facilities; conveyance pipelines; and seawater intrusion prevention (SWIP) wells. I’m thrilled to share with you that one of those three key components...
Read more about Pure Water Soquel...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: May 1, 2021
The month of May means that the spring season is really in full swing! It’s a time of new growth and rejuvenation – and for the Soquel Creek Water District, spring has brought a brand-new website that is streamlined, cleaner, easier to navigate, and desig...
Read more about the new website
Water Wisdom
Posted on: April 1, 2021
The Soquel Creek Water District's new WaterSmart Customer Portal is an easy-to-use, free online tool giving you more control over your water use and billing, leak detection, and more. Along with our new, intelligent meters (i-Meters) which are now install...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: March 3, 2021
The District is involved in many partnerships, as we carry out our mission of providing a clean, safe, reliable water supply for today and the future. And when it comes to the future, we think about what kind of world we'll leave to today's children in ou...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: February 1, 2021
Here we are in February, the month of love! This pandemic Valentine's Day may be a bit different so I hope everyone can find creative, safe, and socially-distanced ways to express their love and gratitude.
As for Soquel Creek Water District, we continue ou...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: January 1, 2021
By Rachél Lather, President, Soquel Creek Water District Board of Directors
Many people are breathing a sigh of relief as the new year begins, looking forward to 2021 with hope and optimism while saying farewell to 2020. It was indeed an unprecedented year...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: November 30, 2020
As water metering technology continues to advance, the District is staying on the cutting edge by implementing the latest tools for our customers, giving you more control over your water use, billing, leak detection, and other tools.
What's the la...
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Water Wisdom
Posted on: November 2, 2020
The Soquel Creek Water District is engaged in multiple approaches to combat over-drafting of the groundwater basin and seawater intrusion into our local water supply. It's important to remember that these severe water supply challenges affect everyone in ...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: October 1, 2020
Pure Water Soquel will help ensure that day never comes, with over $100 million in funding from the State Water Board and EPA which cover the cost of the project.
Imagine a Day Without Water on October 21 is an annual nationwide day of education and advoca...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: September 1, 2020
The Soquel Creek Water District is engaged in multiple approaches to combat over-drafting of the groundwater basin and seawater intrusion into our local water supply. It's important to remember that these severe water supply challenges affect everyone in ...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: August 1, 2020
Every August is National Water Quality Month - an annual opportunity to remind ourselves of the crucial importance of water in our everyday lives and the necessity to protect the quality of our drinking water, our lakes and waterways, and our oceans.
For t...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: July 6, 2020
The Soquel Creek Water District is engaged in multiple approaches to combat over-drafting of the groundwater basin and seawater intrusion into our local water supply. It's important to remember that these severe water supply challenges affect everyone in ...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: June 22, 2020
We are all craving some normalcy in our lives right now, with these uncertain and unprecedented times. So, in this month's column, let's go back to basics and get down to earth. The earth in your garden that is!
Since last month, most nur...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: April 28, 2020
The Soquel Creek Water District is engaged in multiple approaches to combat over-drafting of the groundwater basin and seawater intrusion into our local water supply. It's important to remember that these severe water supply challenges affect everyone in ...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: April 2, 2020
The Soquel Creek Water District is engaged in multiple approaches to combat over-drafting of the groundwater basin and seawater intrusion into our local water supply. It's important to remember that these severe water supply challenges affect everyone in ...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: March 2, 2020
The Soquel Creek Water District is engaged in multiple approaches to combat over-drafting of the groundwater basin and seawater intrusion into our local water supply. It's important to remember that these severe water supply challenges affect everyone in ...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: January 23, 2020
The month of February brings thoughts of Valentine's Day, and love…and also of cold weather, rain, clouds, and the ideal day staying home where it's warm and dry and cozy. In honor of wet weather that we certainly love (and ne...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: January 9, 2020
Well, all of our calendars are now out of "the teens" and into "the twenties." What a milestone!
Here at the Soquel Creek Water District we enter 2020 with a great sense of accomplishment and achievement - and a strong resolve to contin...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: November 1, 2019
As our Pure Water Soquel project continues with design and towards construction, we are happy to congratulate our friends across the bay at Monterey One Water, upon their recent ribbon cutting of their Pure Water Monterey advanced water purification facil...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: September 5, 2019
Planning is underway for the second annual Water Harvest Festival that will be held on October 20th from 11-3 pm at Anna Jean Cummings Park, also known as Blue Ball Park in Soquel. This will be a fun family oriented festival to celebrate our local water r...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: August 12, 2019
Irrigation systems help us control the timing, volume, and duration of water applied to our landscapes. When these systems are designed and maintained properly, they save you, water, time, and money and help you keep a beautiful, efficiently, and easily w...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: June 3, 2019
California has over 500 groundwater basins and only 21 are classified as "high-priority basins in critical overdraft." The Santa Cruz Mid-County Groundwater Basin is one of these 21 basins.
What Does Critical Overdraft Mean
In the Santa Cruz Mid-C...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: April 3, 2019
This month I want to share with you some interesting State legislative news related to water:
SB 332: Local Water Reliability Act (Introduced 2019)
Did you know that statewide, about 400 billion gallons of treated effluent water thrown away every year? That...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: March 1, 2019
With unlimited access to information and opinions in today's modern world, it's often hard to discern what is factual and what isn't. With my busy schedule as a working Mom, juggling family life, my son's sports schedul...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: February 5, 2019
February… it's the month we celebrate love and it's still wintertime so you may be cuddled up with a book, perhaps under a blanket, and by the fire. In the spirit of this column being about WATER- I want to share a quick overv...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: February 5, 2019
The Soquel Creek Water District's New Year's resolution for 2019 - and beyond - is recharge and replenishment of our groundwater supply. How do we plan to keep this resolution? With several exciting projects and strategies that are part ...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: November 27, 2018
By Dr. Bruce Daniels, 2018 President, Board of Directors
Soquel Creek Water District has made great progress in the last year in some major goals: To deliver safe, high-quality water to our customers 365 days a year, 24 hours a day in a fiscally responsibl...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: November 6, 2018
As many of you know, the groundwater basin in the Santa Cruz Mid-County area is plagued with seawater intrusion at the coastline and its threat of moving further inland toward our drinking water wells is scarier than all the Halloween horror movies out th...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: October 1, 2018
The Soquel Creek Water District has proudly received a significant honor from the National WateReuse Association: the 2018 Award of Excellence for Outreach and Education, in recognition of the District's Pure Water Soquel Mobile Educational Trail...
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Water Wisdom
Posted on: September 5, 2018
It's not too early to think about what to do with your garden and landscaping this fall!
Many people think of spring as the prime planting period, but here are some great reasons - well-known to many home gardeners - that fall is really the perfec...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: August 9, 2018
Spoiler Alert: A high-quality, reliable, sustainable water supply is one of them!
When you get right down to it, there are just two basic things that humans can't live without: water and food. Providing one of those (We can't live without...
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Water Wisdom
Posted on: July 9, 2018
When it comes to the effective management of our groundwater resources, the Soquel Creek Water District's goals are simple: keep our water supply safe, keep it reliable, and keep it sustainable. To be successful in this, we must be flexible and a...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: June 5, 2018
This is a historical time in our water district's Community Water Plan history. We are at the crossroads of several water supply and groundwater recharge projects that will help protect our critically over-drafted groundwater aquifers from seawat...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: April 25, 2018
From last October to March our area received just over 16 inches of rain, which is only 62% of the typical average rainfall. Additionally, the District - in partnership with the Santa Cruz Mid-County Groundwater Agency- received new data this year validat...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: April 10, 2018
Written by: Dr. Bruce Daniels, Board President
Climate change is a serious issue all over the planet. It also has real impacts right here in our Soquel Creek Water District that must be considered for our water supply planning.
As you probably already know,...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: February 22, 2018
Raising awareness of groundwater is extremely important locally since all our water supply in the Santa Cruz Mid-County region comes from a complex groundwater basin comprised of two aquifers, the Purisima Formation and the Aromas Red Sands. Although we, ...
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Water Wisdom
Posted on: January 23, 2018
By: Melanie Mow Schumacher, P.E., Special Projects-Communications Manager
January brought the Soquel Creek Water District some very exciting news from the California State Water Resources Control Board! We've been awarded a grant under the state&a...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: December 4, 2017
By: Dr. Tom LaHue, Vice-President, Soquel Creek Water District Board of Directors
When I first began my service as a board member for Soquel Creek Water District, my primary goal was to do whatever I could to protect our water supply and to have it be sust...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: October 26, 2017
This month, I'd like to offer some clarifications regarding Soquel Creek Water District's approach to developing new water supplies and help reduce any misunderstandings that people may have.
To aid in replenishing the groundwater basin -...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: October 1, 2017
Last month my son, who is a freshman at Soquel High School, had to write a persuasive essay for his geography class on his opinion of what has a greater impact: humans on Earth or Earth on humans - with an added emphasis on specifics within Santa Cruz Cou...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: September 12, 2017
With all the division in our government, it is easy to forget there are some policy priorities that actually cut across party lines and geographical boundaries. Constituents may have different opinions on health care and tax reform, but they have a lot in...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: August 4, 2017
Water is vital to America's economy and our quality of life. In fact, aging infrastructure and years of deferred maintenance is catching up, and the cost of inaction could be severe. A new economic analysis for the "Value of Water Campaign&q...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: July 7, 2017
One of our primary organizational goals at Soquel Creek Water District is community engagement and outreach. This involves fostering relationships and open communication with our customers and the community-at-large through our website, on the phone, at c...
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Water Wisdom
Posted on: May 13, 2017
California was hit with storm after storm this winter, effectively ending the drought in much of the state. Areas that rely on surface water fared especially well. However, not everyone is out of the woods yet. Governor Brown's recent Executive Order B-40...
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Water Wisdom
Posted on: March 26, 2017
The Santa Cruz County community is a leader in implementing "The Three Rs" - reduce, reuse, recycle. Not only a plastic bag ban, but as of 2017 no plastic straws or stir sticks, and only compostable cups, lids, containers, and cutlery for County...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: February 28, 2017
This winter - with the relentless stormy days and flu/cold season in full swing - it may be an opportune time to stretch out on the couch, grab a blanket and some popcorn, and watch a movie. How about making your next movie binge all about water? Many peo...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: January 30, 2017
There's a lot of talk these days about "fake" news, "alternative facts", and general mistrust of the media. With multiple sources of news available, it's important to understand and separate the information from misin...
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Water Wisdom
Posted on: January 2, 2017
Happy New Year! Soquel Creek Water District is proud to be an integral part of the Santa Cruz Mid-County community for over 55 years. To kick off 2017, we'd like to reflect back on a few of our key moments in 2016:
February 2016 - Ron Duncan was a...
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Water Wisdom
Posted on: November 22, 2016
We are very excited to dedicate our entire column this month to Soquel Creek Water District's Groundwater Replenishment Project, recently named Pure Water Soquel. Evaluation of the project is currently underway. Please take a moment to learn abou...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: October 26, 2016
As we've mentioned in our previous columns, Soquel Creek Water District (District) has been working with the City of Santa Cruz Water Department (City) on a 5-year pilot project to purchase a small amount of treated surface water (also referred t...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: September 26, 2016
The Santa Cruz Mid-County Groundwater Agency (MGA) reached two important milestones this summer and continues to make progress in meeting the mandates of the state's Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). In our April 2016 column, we high...
Read on...
Water Wisdom
Posted on: September 8, 2016
Water main flushing is a necessary program for water agencies to ensure high-quality water. The traditional method of flushing involves opening up fire hydrants and letting the water flow out to scour and remove the buildup in pipes that may cause discolo...
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Water Wisdom
Posted on: August 1, 2016
The mission of providing reliable services in a cost-effective and environmentally sensitive manner is now prevalent amongst most public agencies and collaboration is a key ingredient. No longer are agencies bound by their jurisdictional boundaries, the &...
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Water Wisdom
Posted on: April 29, 2016
Helping our customers with water conservation is an essential part of what we do at the Soquel Creek Water District. A lot of water savings can be achieved through changes inside our homes, but a significant amount of residential water consumption is rela...
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Water Wisdom
Posted on: March 3, 2016
On February 9, the Santa Cruz City Council agreed to sell the Soquel Creek Water District a limited amount of available winter surface water each year from the City's north coast sources for the next 5 years. The Cooperative Water Transfer and Pu...
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Water Wisdom
Posted on: February 2, 2016
When most people think of the Soquel Creek Water District, they probably think of pipes, people in hard hats, and water being pumped up out of the ground, treated, and delivered to their faucets, because that is the side of our organization they see out i...
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Water Wisdom
Posted on: January 6, 2016
By Rachél Lather, President, Soquel Creek Water District Board of Directors
Many people are breathing a sigh of relief as the new year begins, looking forward to 2021 with hope and optimism while saying farewell to 2020. It was indeed an unprece...
Read on...
Water Wisdom