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Santa Cruz council approves habitat plan and water-rights changes to protect salmon and secure supplies
Summary
The City of Santa Cruz unanimously approved an Anadromous Salmonid Habitat Conservation Plan and related water-rights modifications to dedicate stream flows for coho and steelhead while pursuing underground storage and interagency water-sharing to preserve local water reliability.
The City of Santa Cruz City Council on Sept. 30 unanimously approved an Anadromous Salmonid Habitat Conservation Plan (ASHCP) and associated water-rights modifications intended to protect local populations of coho salmon and steelhead trout while preserving municipal water supply reliability.
The action, moved by Council member Tragero and seconded by Council member O'Hara, directs the city to adopt the ASHCP, accept changes to San Lorenzo watershed water rights (including dedicating bypass flows for pre-1914 North Coast water rights), and authorizes the city manager to sign related permits. The motion passed on a unanimous recorded vote.
City Water Director Heidi Luckenbach told the council the package links three elements she described as a “three-legged stool”: the ASHCP, water-rights modifications that add operational flexibility, and ongoing projects to improve…
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