Existing Sources of Water Supply for City of Santa Cruz

The water system operated by the City of Santa Cruz is comprised of four main production elements: 1) the North Coast sources, 2) the San Lorenzo River , 3) Loch Lomond Reservoir, and 4) the Live Oak Wells.  The system relies entirely on rainfall, surface runoff, and groundwater infiltration occurring within watersheds located in Santa Cruz County . No water is purchased from State or Federal sources or imported to the region from outside the Santa Cruz area.

The North Coast sources consist of surface diversions from three coastal streams and a natural spring located approximately six to eight miles northwest of downtown Santa Cruz . These sources are Liddell Spring, Laguna Creek, Reggiardo Creek, and Majors Creek. The use of these sources by the City dates back as far as 1890.

The San Lorenzo River is the City’s largest source of water supply. The main surface water diversion is located at Tait Street near the City limits just north of Highway 1 and dates back to the 1920s. The Tait Street Diversion is supplemented by two shallow, auxiliary wells located across the river. These wells are hydraulically connected to the river and tied to the City’s appropriative rights for surface diversion. The drainage area above the Tait Street Diversion is 115 square miles.

The other diversion on the San Lorenzo River is the Felton Diversion Station, which is an inflatable dam and intake structure built in 1974, located about six miles upstream from the Tait Street Diversion. Water is pumped from this diversion through the Felton Booster Station to Loch Lomond Reservoir. The facility is used to augment storage in the reservoir during dry years when natural inflow from Newell Creek is low.

Loch Lomond Reservoir is located near the town of Ben Lomond in the Santa Cruz Mountains . The reservoir was constructed in 1960 and has a maximum capacity of 2,810 million gallons (mg). In addition to providing surface water storage, the reservoir and surrounding watershed are used for no body contact public recreation purposes, including fishing, boating, hiking, and picnicking. The Newell Creek watershed above the reservoir is about eight square miles. In addition to the City, the San Lorenzo Valley Water District is entitled to receive a portion of the water stored in Loch Lomond .

The Live Oak Well system consists of three production wells located in the southeast portion of the City water service area.

While the City is the largest user of water from the San Lorenzo River basin, three other water districts, several private water companies and numerous individual property owners share the

San Lorenzo River watershed as their primary source for drinking water supply. A diagram showing the City’s existing water sources is provided in Figure 3-2. Water Treatment Facilities The City operates two water treatment facilities. All surface water is treated at the Graham Hill Water Treatment Plant, (GHWTP) which currently has a capacity of about 20 mgd. The Live Oak Water Treatment Plant treats groundwater to remove iron and manganese. It has a capacity of 2 mgd.  

Finished water from the GHWTP flows to the Bay Street Reservoir and into the distribution system, some of which is pumped to various elevated pressure zones situated throughout the service area. Treated water from the Live Oak plant is pumped directly into the distribution system.

Existing Sources of Water Supply for Soquel Creek Water District

Currently the Soquel Creek Water District (SqCWD)   obtains all its water from groundwater. The SqCWD operates 17 production wells, 16 of which are active, with an estimated production capacity of over 14 million gallons per day.  The system encompasses approximately 130 miles of pipeline, which range in diameter from two to 16 inches. The 18 water storage tanks have a combined 7.5 million gallons.