Systems Analysis of Agricultural and Urban Water Management Options in Salinas and the Monterey Peninsula, California Known as the "salad bowl of the US" for the volume of lettuce it grows, Salinas, CA also leads in the production of broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, spinach, artichoke, cabbage and celery. This $4 billion industry is struggling with drought and increased water demands due to population growth on the nearby Monterey Peninsula as well as the need to sustain environmental water flows (Howitt et al., 2014). With ideal growing conditions and water insecurity from the current multi-year California drought, there exists an opportunity to address optimization of water management at the interface between the agricultural/urban water …show more content…
The groundwater could then be used for agricultural and urban uses. These water sources are hypothesized to be less energy intensive and more cost effective compared to the proposed desalination plant. Figure 2: Map of project facilities overview in Monterey County, CA (Source: Pure Water Monterey, MRWPCA) Innovative methods of agricultural reuse can be identified throughout the food processing system (Casani et al. 2005). One source of agricultural reuse water is from the washing of produce, which is a critical part of the preparation process since most of the produce is sold as “ready to eat” (Artes and Allende 2005). Due to the varying processing steps and nutrients in the system, food process water contains numerous water quality constituents (Haruvy 1997). Therefore, a more in-depth analysis of the contaminants found in food processing water is imperative for its optimal …show more content…
This case study of Salinas and the Monterey Peninsula provides a systems-level analysis of the water management options that support both the agriculture and urban sectors, which brings greater efficiency to water and energy use. The aim of the research is to reinvent the intersection between urban and agricultural water use in Salinas and Monterey Peninsula, CA to provide low energy, cost effective, resilient water to a growing population and economy. The goal of the research is to show how the groundwater replenishment project can entirely offset the need for the desalination plant and can also be resilient to drought conditions. This will decrease the amount of energy and greenhouse gas emissions from the desalination process. It would also decrease seawater intrusion into water-bearing strata. While the overall impacts of climate change on water resources is not fully known, it can be seen that population growth and groundwater overuse have already caused alarming conditions in Salinas and the Monterey Peninsula. Therefore, the project results will advance the resiliency of future water supplies through the use of stormwater, recycled water, and agricultural process water for groundwater