1970 - Geology of Southern Monterey Bay and Its Relationship to the Groundwater Basin and Salt Water Intrusion

This report discussed the preliminary results of a U.S. Geological Survey and the State of California joint investigation of Monterey Bay. The objective of the survey was to delineate the groundwater basin offshore, to determine the distribution and locations of fresh water aquifers by locating areas in the Monterey Submarine Canyon and the ocean bottom in Monterey Bay where aquifers might outcrop and thus be areas of entrance for seawater. The report noted that since the early 1940s continuous heavy pumping along the coastal area of the Salinas Valley had depleted the groundwater storage and lowered the piezometric levels to an elevation that encouraged seawater encroachment and had caused degradation of the groundwater quality. Groundwater accounted for more than 95% of the water used in the valley. Increased demand for high quality water for agricultural, domestic and municipality uses had made the search for a solution to the seawater encroachment problem a major critical objective in all county and state water resources agencies connected wit the Salinas Valley groundwater basin.https://digitalcommons.csumb.edu/hornbeck_cgb_1/1017/thumbnail.jp