Water worries still abound, even though some rain has been coming down. In Santa Cruz County, and around the Bay, talking about water is the order of the day.

Talking about water is the order of today, particularly for those who depend on the groundwater aquifers underlying the Pajaro Valley. This includes areas within both Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties. If you care about what our communities are doing, and can do, and must do about groundwater overdraft in the Pajaro Basin, there is a meeting today that should be of interest.

At 12:30 this afternoon, the Community Water Dialogue will be meeting in the Cassin Ranch Conference Room, located at 151 Silliman Road in Watsonville. Topics for discussion include a progress report on what the Community Water Dialogue has been doing, and a discussion, specifically, about the progress being made towards implementing an effective Basin Management Plan.

There will also be an opportunity for participants to find out more about how the Sustainable Groundwater Management Acts will work, and implications for the Pajaro Valley, which is really out in front of the rest of the state in this area.

Finally, the Dialogue wants to generate ideas and next steps for reaching conservation targets, since the drought makes it imperative that we find a new water “supply” by learning how to use our existing water supplies more efficiently and effectively. This is Gary Patton.

More Information

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Pajaro Watershed Information Center
• Agenda, Community Water Dialogue Meeting

Here in the Monterey Bay Region, lots of different community-based nonprofit groups play a key role in various aspects of land use. Since I was the first Executive Director of LandWatch Monterey County, I always like to mention LandWatch, but there are lots of other great nonprofits, too. You can check the “Land Use Links” in today’s transcript, but let me mention the Elkhorn Slough Foundation, the Carmel Valley Association, the League of Women Voters, and the Monterey County Ag Land Trust.

And let’s not forget Agri-Culture, a nonprofit associated with the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau. I am on the Agri-Culture mailing list, and just recently received its semi-annual report, called Branching Out. This latest edition has what I consider to be an inspirational story, so I thought I’d share it with you.

The Principal of Watsonville High School participated in Agri-Culture’s nationally recognized “Focus Agriculture” program in 2013. She was impressed with the wide range of careers in agriculture, something most people don’t know about. At her request, Agri-Culture put together a tour for the teachers of Watsonville High School, with sixty-five teachers participating. Now, these teachers can help steer their students towards good-paying careers that can support themselves and their families, and our local communities. Read the full story by clicking the link at kusp.org/landuse.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Monterey County Ag Land Trust
• LandWatch Monterey County
• Elkhorn Slough Foundation
• Carmel Valley Association
• League of Women Voters – Monterey Peninsula
• League of Women Voters – Salinas Valley
• League of Women Voters – Santa Cruz County
• Agri-Culture Website
• Branching Out – Past Newsletters
• Watsonville High School Educators’ Tour

There was a meeting on Monday, about water in the Pajaro Valley. Let me tell you about some more meetings on water to which you can rally. Mark your calendars, and plan ahead. Farmers say we need water or we’re not going to get fed.

The first meeting I want to announce, so you can schedule your attendance, is a “Brown Bag” luncheon meeting, hosted by the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency, or the PVWMA. This Brown Bag meeting will be an informal, roundtable gathering with a focus on anything connected to groundwater management in the Pajaro Valley. It will take place on Wednesday, December 10th. The meeting goes from 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., in the PVWMA Conference Room at 36 Brennan Street in Watsonville. You should RSVP if you intend to come. Bring a lunch, but cookies and drinks are going to be provided by the PVWMA.

The next meeting I’d like to highlight would be a stretch, for most listeners. Nonetheless, if you are interested in water policy you should consider attending. On December 11th, the Santa Clara Valley Water District is hosting a meeting in Palo Alto, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m., focused on wastewater reuse. Using wastewater as a potential water source is beginning to be taken quite seriously. The Palo Alto meeting is free, but you do need to register. There is a link in today’s transcript, at kusp.org/landuse.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Santa Clara Valley Water District Website
• Wastewater Reuse in Sunnyvale
• Information and Registration – Recycled Water Presentation
• To RSVP For the PVWMA Brown Bag Luncheon phone: 831-722-3139

My family always takes a hike on Thanksgiving. If you don’t have any plans, think about that. Think about Wilder Ranch, or Pogonip, or Nisene Marks in Santa Cruz County, or Point Lobos or the lands of the former Fort Ord over there on the Monterey County side of the Bay. Our land use policies, local, state and federal, have helped preserve and protect the stunning natural environment in which we are so privileged to live. Get out there and give thanks! That’s a good suggestion for today!

And I like to give thanks for the system of local government that let’s us, if we choose to get involved ourselves, determine just what measures we want to take to protect the natural environment, and to make our human environment better, and more sustainable. Sometimes, we can think we are “doomed,” as we consider the trends. But we can change the future. It’s happened before, right here around the Monterey Bay.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Two Worlds Blog – “Map of Doom”
• The Story of Measure J

Coming up on December 2nd is a free workshop on the Draft Environmental Impact Report, or EIR, being prepared for the proposed Monterey Downs project. I heard about this event in an email bulletin from the Carmel Valley Association. As the announcement said, “this isn’t strictly a Carmel Valley issue, but the Monterey Downs proposal, which includes horse racing and on and off-track betting, would certainly affect life and lives in our valley.”

Actually, the Carmel Valley Association bulletin said that the Monterey Downs project “will” certainly affect the life and lives of Carmel Valley residents. But the use of that verb “will” presumes the very question in issue. Should the local government agencies most directly involved give the developer a permit? Or not? And will the public, after it sees the results of the local government deliberations, decide that the decision is acceptable, or will the people want to weigh in themselves, through either the referendum or initiative process? What “will” happen depends on what we do. Nothing is inevitable within the world that we create through the land use decisions we make.

The California Environmental Quality Act requires an EIR for any project that “might” have a significant impact on the natural environment. If you don’t know about Monterey Downs, a check today’s transcript. Then, think about attending that meeting on December 2nd.

More Information:

• Land Use Links
• Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog
• Carmel Valley Association Website
• Notice and Registration Link for CEQA Workshop