Published on August 28, 2024
Bill pay feature coming to WaterSmart
Changes are coming to the District’s auto-payment system this fall! The auto-pay feature will be available within WaterSmart, the free online platform that helps customers track and manage their water use.
Enroll now in WaterSmart to be prepared for this new service, debuting in October.
Expanded groundwater recharge system planned for Cavallaro Transit Center
The Scotts Valley Water District will develop the second phase of groundwater recharge system at the Cavallaro Transit Center on Kings Village Drive.
Funded through the California Department of WaterResources Urban Community Drought Relief Grant Program, the project will provide “low impact development” parking lot features to reduce stormwater volumes, improve water quality and increase groundwater recharge through the capture and treatment of stormwater from the south end of the parking lot at the property.
This work is the second phase of an aquifer recharge project that began in 2016. Three tree-well biofiltration units will be installed to treat stormwater before it percolates into the aquifer. A hydrodynamic separator will remove any solids, such as trash, as part of this process.
The first phase included the excavation for the infiltration gallery and construction of a retaining wall and bio swale. Once captured and treated, the water seeps through the soil into the aquifer that SVWD draws on to provide water to customers. It can take years for water to travel through layers of soil and sandstone into the aquifer.
SVWD has monitored the rate and volume of percolation of the existing recharge area. Approximately 3-acre feet — nearly 1 million gallons — of water has recharged to the aquifer each year since 2017. The expansion of the groundwater recharge system is expected to increase the annual recharge to 2.3 million gallons.
Work hours will be Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The work is expected to be completed by early January 2025. The $1.5million project has been approved by the City of Scotts Valley and Santa Cruz METRO.
There will be temporary parking changes at the transit center: overflow parking will be available in the City-owned dirt lot across the street and disabled parking will be relocated to the northwest end of the parking lot during construction.
