Imagine a Day Without Water: How Monterey One Water Turns Scarcity into Resilience
Date: October 16, 2025
Every year in October, the water community comes together to “Imagine a Day Without Water.” Monterey County has faced a fragile...
Imagine a Day Without Water: How Monterey One Water Turns Scarcity into Resilience
Date: October 16, 2025
Every year in October, the water community comes together to “Imagine a Day Without Water.” Monterey County has faced a fragile balance between water supply and demand for decades. Isolated from state and federal water projects, the region has long relied on its own groundwater and river resources — a dependence that has led to declining aquifers, seawater intrusion, and ecological stress across the Carmel River and Seaside Groundwater Basin. In 2009, the State Water Resources Control Board issued a Cease-and-Desist Order to drastically limit diversions from the fragile Carmel River watershed, cutting the local water supply nearly in half. Imagining a day without water — or sufficient supply of it — became a possible reality for our region. Those restrictions, though essential for environmental recovery, highlighted a critical need: to develop a sustainable, locally managed water portfolio capable of supporting a thriving economy and a resilient environment.
That challenge became the focus of Monterey One Water (M1W), the regional agency responsible for wastewater collection, treatment, and reuse in northern Monterey County. Every day, M1W treats approximately 17 million gallons of wastewater at its Regional Treatment Plant in Marina, California. Instead of sending this water to the ocean, M1W transforms the source water into a valuable local resource through two major initiatives — the Salinas Valley Reclamation Project (SVRP) and Pure Water Monterey (PWM). These programs provide recycled and purified water for agriculture and drinking water supplies, strengthening regional water security and helping the community adapt to a changing climate.
M1W’s investment in water reuse is rooted in both necessity and foresight. With no access to imported water, the region needed a sustainable, climate-resilient solution that could diversify its limited water portfolio; the agency and its partners recognized that resilience depended on maximizing every drop within the local water system. In collaboration with the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District, the Pure Water Monterey project was developed as a state-of-the-art groundwater replenishment program. It captures a blend of municipal wastewater, agricultural drainage, food processing water, and stormwater — an innovative multi-source strategy unique in California. After four advanced treatment steps — ozone, membrane filtration, reverse osmosis, and ultraviolet/advanced oxidation — the purified water is safely injected into the Seaside Groundwater Basin, creating a drought-proof, locally controlled supply.
The numbers tell a powerful story. The PWM Advanced Water Purification Facility produces up to 7.6 million gallons of purified recycled water each day, delivering 5,950 acre-feet per year to replenish the Seaside Groundwater Basin and 600 acre-feet per year for landscape irrigation through the Marina Coast Water District. Meanwhile, the SVRP supplies roughly 11,000 acre-feet of tertiary-treated recycled water annually to irrigate about 12,000 acres of farmland, sustaining the Salinas Valley’s world-renowned crops — from lettuce and strawberries to artichokes. These efforts reduce groundwater pumping, slow seawater intrusion, and protect thousands of agricultural and tourism-related jobs. They also improve local ecosystems, enhancing water quality and supporting endangered and threatened species like the South-Central California Coast Steelhead and California red-legged frog.
By viewing all water as “One Water” — whether it begins as stormwater, wastewater, or agricultural runoff — M1W demonstrates how a commitment to innovation, collaboration, and environmental stewardship can secure a community’s future. Through purification, recycling, and reuse, M1W transforms source water challenges into opportunities, ensuring a resilient supply that sustains homes, businesses, and diverse natural ecosystems across Monterey County. Every drop truly counts, and M1W’s transformational water projects serve as vital components in ensuring that “a day without water” never becomes our reality.
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