Groundwater Model

About the Program

Category: Planning (Best in Category)

Year: 2009

Although San Diego County’s population has historically relied upon imported water from outside its borders, local groundwater provides the only water for nearly 41,000 residents who live east of the County’s main population centers. At the same time, environmental and political concerns threaten their imported supplies even as their growing population pushes proposed development deeper into water well reliant rural areas. Consequently, it is more important than ever for land use planners to clearly understand the County’s groundwater-supply picture. With that in mind, County geologists and mapping experts have created a first-of-its kind comprehensive groundwater study of this region. The study will empower planners and decision makers to see how various land uses proposals and projects would affect the vast areas of unincorporated San Diego County that rely on groundwater supplies. The model will be a valuable tool for planners to understand land use proposals in the County’s General Plan update. The model’s study represents a month-to-month evaluation of 86 groundwater basins over a 34-year period, calculating how their supplies have ebbed and flowed that weighs whether each basin could yield a long-term sustainable water supply to meet anticipated demands.