Proposed College Lake Integrated Resources Management Project

Areial view of College Lake looking east 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 and mixes with ocean water.

The proposed College Lake Integrated Resources Management Project would develop facilities to use the lake water as an alternative to groundwater for agricultural irrigation. To do this, the proposed project would increase the storage capacity of the lake to approximately 1,700 acre-feet and allow an estimated average of 2,400 acre-feet of water per year to be captured, stored, treated, and delivered for agricultural irrigation.

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.