Our Watershed
A watershed is an area of land that drains water into a common body of water, such as a lake, river, stream, or ocean. We are in the San Lorenzo River Watershed and all the water in our watershed drains to the Pacific Ocean via the San Lorenzo River. You can see where the San Lorenzo River meets the Pacific Ocean just south of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Here is a link that shows the various watersheds in Santa Cruz County.
The San Lorenzo Valley Water District owns approximately 2,000 acres of land in the San Lorenzo River Watershed, which supplies surface and ground water to the District's customers. The District's watershed land is in four separate acreages: Olympia Watershed, Fall Creek, Zayante Creek and Ben Lomond Mountain.
If you'd like to learn more about the natural history of the Santa Cruz Mountains check out the link to this YouTube page.
Fall Creek is one of the streams we get our water from. Getting to know your watershed: "Fall Creek" (YouTube link)
RESOURCE AND WATERSHED MANAGEMENT PROJECTS
A key part of the District's mission is "to manage and protect the environmental health of the aquifers and watersheds." Ongoing watershed stewardship is needed to protect these valuable resources. Stewardship includes controlling invasive species and trespass, reducing fire risk, protecting and restoring sensitive species and monitoring progress.
To see current Resource and Watershed Management projects, (click here).
REPORT AN ISSUE ON THE WATERSHED
If you see something on the Watershed that you think should be reported to SLVWD staff, please use this form (click here).