College Lake Integrated Resources Management Project
Aerial view of College Lake looking East
To see up to date construction progress click here. College Lake is a naturally occurring lake located approximately 1 mile northeast of the City of Watsonville that naturally holds about 1,000 acre-feet of water. Each spring, Reclamation District #2049 drains the lake to accommodate farming by pumping the water downstream into Salsipuedes Creek. The water ultimately flows into Monterey Bay, mixing with ocean water.
The College Lake Integrated Resources Management Project will develop facilities to use the lake water as an alternative to groundwater for agricultural irrigation. To do this, the project would increase the storage capacity of the lake to approximately 1,700 acre-feet. On average, the Project will supply approximately 1,800 to 2,300 acre-feet per year of water to growers in the Pajaro Valley.
Hydrologic modeling has shown that the most effective way to stop seawater intrusion and balance our overdrafted basin is to reduce groundwater pumping in the coastal area. This project helps to achieve this goal.
To learn about the Water Right Application #A032881 for College Lake Project submitted by PV Water click here. The PV Water Notice, Draft Application, Revised Application, and the College Lake Project Place of Use Map is the last page of the application.
To review the Board Adopted Adaptive Management Plan, to the future College Lake Project Operations, click here. The Appendices to the Adaptive Management Plan is here. To see the public process that developed the AMP, check out, the Ad Hoc AMP website.
College Lake Project Guide College Lake FAQs
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Event / Meeting |
Date |
Materials / Presentations |
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| Basin Management Plan Update 2014, Final Programmatic EIR and Resolution | August 2014 |
Basin Management Plan Update 2014 Integrated EIR for BMP Update 2014 (112 Mb) |
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College Lake Community Meeting |
September 29, 2016 |
Presentation 1: Basin Management Update - Lockwood (6 MB) Presentation 2: Hydrologic Monitoring Update - Barker (7 MB) |
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College Lake Open House and Community Meeting Open House Picture Before Presentation Begins Open House Presentation Picture |
July 10, 2017 | |
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Board of Directors Meeting Item 10B, Board directs GM to file and pursue water-right application for proposed College Lake Project. Item 10C, Board directs staff and consultants to proceed with CEQA process for College Lake Project. To learn about the Water Right Application #32881 for College Lake Project submitted by PV Water click here. The PV Water Notice, Application, Request for Release from Priority, Maps and Photos can be found at the bottom of the table, located at the bottom of the web page. |
September 20, 2017 | |
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Notice of Preparation for Proposed College Lake Integrated Resources Management Project Comments on the Notice of Preparation need to be received by January 5, 2018 at 5:00 PM |
Published: November 28, 2017 |
Notice of Preparation - Draft EIR
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Environmental Impact Report Public Scoping Meetings |
December 12, 2017 at 3:00 PM & 7:00 PM |
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Publication of Draft Environmental Impact Report Public Comments on the Draft EIR will be accepted through June 7, 2019 at 5:00 PM May 30, 2019 Update: The public comment period on the Draft EIR is extended through June 21, 2019 at 5:00 PM. |
April 17, 2019 |
Draft EIR including Appendices (71 MB) Draft EIR Only (37 MB) Draft EIR Appendices Only (34 MB) Aquatic Resources Report (43 MB) Notice of Completion - Draft EIR Notice of Availability - Draft EIR Spanish four page Handout - Draft EIR
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Public Meetings for the Draft EIR 3:00PM -4:30PM & 7:00PM-8:30PM |
May 1, 2019 |
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Publication of Final Environmental Impact Report A public hearing will be held at the Board of Directors meeting on October 16th, 2019, at 7:00 PM. |
September 30, 2019 |
Notice of Availability - Final EIR Final EIR (29 MB) |
| Special Board Meeting to Receive Presentation of Final EIR for College Lake Integrated Resources Management Project | October 3, 2019 | |
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Board of Directors Meeting: 10A: Consider Actions pertaining to certification of the Final Environmental Impact Report for, and Approval of, the Proposed College Lake Integrated Resources Management Project Resolution 2019-18 Certifying the Final Environmental Impact Report, [Exhibit A] Adopting Findings Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act, [Exhibit B] Adopting a Statement of Overriding Considerations, and [Exhibit C] Adopting a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program for the College Lake Integrated Resources Management Project Resolution 2019-19 Selecting, Approving, and Adopting the College Lake Integrated Resources Management Project |
October 16, 2019 | |
| College Lake Consolidated Final EIR which includes Draft EIR, Appendices as part of Final EIR, Responses to Comments and all Supplement Documents. | December 2019 | College Lake Consolidated EIR (70Mbs) |
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Request for Proposals to Provide Design and Bid Period Services for the College Lake Integrated Resources Management Project Proposals will be received by PV Water until 4:00 p.m. on July 17,2020 |
June 2020 | College Lake RFP Final Packet |
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College Lake Community Meeting |
October 8, 2020 10:00 am 7:00 pm |
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College Lake Integrated Resources Management Project Adaptive Management Plan 2022 Board Adopted |
January 19, 2022 |
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College Lake Integrated Resources Management Project: Addendum to the Environmental Impact Report for Board Consideration, Addendum Appendices and the Compensatory Mitigation Plan (CMP) revised October 2022. |
July 20, 2022 | |
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Request For Qualifications to provide College Lake Integrated Resources Management Project Adaptive Management Plan for Vegetation Surveys Addendum No.1 |
August 4, 2022 |
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Request for Proposals to provide College Lake Integrated Resources Management Project Construction Management Services Updates: - Corrected typo in College Lake Treated Water Pipeline Description (Pipeline diameter is 30-inches) - Added file to Dropbox: Preliminary Design Report for Water Treatment Plant and Intake Facilities - Added Standard Professional Services Agreement to PDF and DropBox, corrected typo in qualifications section |
November 2, 2022 |
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Request for Proposals to Provide Environmental Monitoring and Permit Compliance Services for College Lake Integrated Resources Management Project |
November 16, 2022 |
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Board authorizes and directs staff to call for public competitive sealed bids. Bid packages available at Watsonville Blueprint. https://www.wbplan.com/wbplanroom/Plan_Room_list.php |
November 16, 2022 |
AD for Bids |
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College Lake Pipeline, No. 30-39-502 Bid Opening January 12, 2023 College Lake Weir and Treatment Plant, No. 30-39-501 Bid Opening, January 18, 2023 |
January 12, 2023 January 18, 2023 |