Considered Opinions

Water

The Santa Cruz Mountains are known for the lack of available water and this site, being in the middle of the toe of a 20-30 acre ancient slide is no exception. Since I didn’t always know that, I have drilled 5 low-producing wells at the lower elevations with water containing TDS^[i]Total Dissolved Solids of 1200 ppm or more, mostly Calcium Carbonate. It is also ladened with fine clay, given its oceanic history, which quickly silts in to fill up the well and stall the pump.

The minimum required flow rate for Building Site Approval is 2.5 gpm, continuous over 24 hours. My strategy to meet that requirement has been to use some combination of these four elements, (1) rely on the one good well, located on the 558-08-119 parcel, above the scarp of the slide, (2) attempt to combine the two wells on the subject property to meet the requirement, (3) revise the existing Shared Well Agreement with the two other properties^[ii]. . one of which – formerly 558-08-111; is now identified as 558-08-141 that I previously owned^[iii]I have since sold the property, but the signed and recorded Agreement runs with the property, not with its owners. which has elevation above the scarp, and (4) transfer one of my existing connections from San Jose Water Company to the subject property.

Issues Further To This Strategy

1. The existing well on 558-08-119 is capable of satisfying the requirement for at least two, if not three, or four parcels, making it a good permanent candidate solution. A new shared well agreement could be created to accomplish that.
2. The location of the septic system near one of the wells on the subject property probably eliminates that one as a possibility.
3. The Engineering Report for the existing Shared Well Agreement can be finished and submitted with the other requirements in the checklist. This was not finished and submitted to DEH earlier because it was not required to obtain site approval for the other two properties being sold. It would need to be revised to use the producing 558-08-119 well because the other 558-08-119 well has since failed. Alternatively, a new well could be drilled on the 558-08-141 property.
4. The Montevina pipeline changes ownership at the pump station just north of the subject property.
   1. Villa del Monte Water Company, the pipeline owner south of the pump station, where the subject property is located, does not allow new connections. We don’t know if that is for allocation reasons or perhaps because the FEMA agreement with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) prevents it.
   2. San Jose Water Company (SJWC) does allow new connections, but my understanding is that the CPUC allows them to connect only customers whose wells have gone dry – not for new construction. In any case, it doesn’t matter because the subject property is outside the SJWC service area.
   3. Before selling the 558-08-141/142 properties, I created an easement to allow utilities to connect across that property to another of my easements, which happens to connect to the subject property.
      1. I then spent several years convincing SJWC to approve two new connections to 558-08-130 and 558-08-119, on the basis that I have several dry wells on those properties.
      2. Later, I obtained an additional easement from the owner of the pump station property, which would make it possible to move the SJWC connections to that location.
      3. Finally, I convinced SJW to allow the connections to be moved to the new location.
      4. Those two connections are now installed, and metered, but not turned on. They cost over $8,000 each to install and are now billed at $51.00 each per month to exist with no water flowing.

 

Two elements of the original strategy remain valid options.

By: Jim
Written: February 3, 2023
Published: February 3, 2023
Published: February 9, 2023
Revised: March 21, 2024
Revised:
Revised: