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MONTEREY COUNTY CIVIL GRAND JURY
Seawater intrusion a top priority
enewspaper.montereyherald.com/html5/reader/producti…paign=norcal-monterey_herald-eNotify-nl&utm_content=eNotify
BY DENNIS L. TAYLOR
NEWSROOM@MONTEREYHERALD.COM
SALINAS — A recent Monterey County Civil Grand Jury report finds thatefforts to identify and advance projects to stem ongoing seawater intrusion in the Salinas Valley must accelerate in order to protect portions of the region’s multi-billion-dollar agricultural economy.
Titled “Seawater Intrusion — A Shared Problem in Monterey County,” the report lays out findings and recommendations, primarily to three agencies in the county: the Board of Supervisors, the Monterey County Water Resources Agency and the Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency.
Seawater intrusion is directly linked to the decades-long problem of overdraft — pumping more water out of the ground than rain and the Salinas River is able to recharge. Most of the groundwater overdraft is associated with agricultural pumping. As inland groundwater levels decline, reduced freshwater pressure allows seawater from the coast to migrate farther inland. Recent mapping shows elevated salinity levels approaching the city limits of Salinas.
Salt water is a death knell to many vegetable crops.
Overdrafting these aquifers — specific underground pools of water
divided by clay layers that comprise basins — is such a problem
statewide that in 2014 the state Legislature passed the Sustainable
Groundwater Management Act, which applies to 127 designated high and medium-priority basins and sub-basins throughout California.
These troubled basins account for roughly 96% of the state’s total
groundwater. The Sustainability Agency is responsible for meeting state mandates to achieve groundwater sustainability by 2040. But water officials emphasize the agency can’t solve these challenges alone. The issues are complex and the potential solutions involve significant technical,
financial and regional coordination challenges. The findings by the
Grand Jury are challenges water officials say they are painfully aware of. “In many ways, the (Grand Jury) recommendations describe exactly what (the Sustainability Agency), its Advisory Committee, its board, partner agencies, consultants, growers, municipal representatives and community members have been actively working on for years,” said Piret
Harmon, the general manager of the Sustainability Agency.
Ara Azhderian, general manager of the Monterey County Water
Resources Agency, said the jury was thorough and well-sourced in its summaries. He agrees that the solution must come from multiple agencies and stakeholders.
“The Monterey County Water Resources Agency is working closely in support of the (Sustainability Agency’s) efforts to develop potential projects and management actions that address an array of undesirable groundwater conditions, including seawater intrusion,” Azhderian said.
He cited several new potential projects that his agency and the SVBGSA have been collaborating on, including what’s called the New Seawater Intrusion Project, or NSIP, that is also noted in the Grand Jury report.
Modeled after the current Castroville Seawater Intrusion Project, or CSIP,which provides recycled water for agricultural irrigation in northern Monterey County after the water has been treated to meet required standards.
By delivering recycled irrigation water through CSIP’s “purple pipe”
distribution system, growers within a roughly 12,000-acre service area are able to reduce groundwater pumping. While the project does not eliminate seawater intrusion, it has helped slow its inland progression.
The proposed NSIP would extend a similar service to an additional
10,000 acre area around Salinas.
One of the grand jury’s findings is that “although multiple technical and feasibility studies addressing seawater intrusion have been completed, no major seawater intrusion mitigation project has advanced to full approval, funding, or construction.”
Water officials interviewed by the Herald agree that there are significant reasons for a measured pace.
Addressing groundwater overdraft and seawater intrusion is
extraordinarily complex and will require long-term, coordinated
solutions rather than quick fixes, Harmon said. Efforts to achieve
sustainability in critically overdrafted subbasins need to be balanced with the needs of agriculture, municipal water systems, domestic well users, environmental resources and the broader regional economy. At a recent meeting of the Advisory Committee to the Sustainability
Agency’s Board of Directors, it was clear that there are wide range of perspectives on how best to address groundwater sustainability and seawater intrusion. The Sustainability Agency’s team developed three portfolios, or combinations, of projects and management actions intended to support further evaluations and, ultimately, help build consensus among the committee and the board.
Addressing these challenges involves far more than simply selecting and constructing projects. Over the past several years, the Sustainability Agency has invested heavily in developing and refining groundwater and seawater intrusion models, conducting annual monitoring and reporting, preparing and updating groundwater sustainability plans, engaging stakeholders and evaluating a broad range of potential projects
and management actions through feasibility studies.
“Over the last several years, the (the Sustainability Agency) has been building the technical and policy foundation necessary to make informed long-term decisions rather than rushing into projects that may not ultimately solve the problem,” Harmon said.
The underlying hydrology in the Salinas Valley is also highly complex. Aquifers do not function like uniform underground lakes; rather, they consist of interconnected and isolated water-bearing formations with varying characteristics across the basin.
Determining whether a project is technically feasible, economically
viable, and capable of producing the desired groundwater benefits
requires extensive study and analysis. Although commonly referred to as the Salinas Valley Basin, the Sustainability Agency jurisdictional area includes six distinct groundwater subbasins, each with different
hydrologic conditions and management challenges. Four of those subbasins currently are experiencing significant effects
from groundwater depletion, with the 180/400 foot aquifer and the
Eastside Subbasin in a state of critical overdraft. The Eastside Basin
borders the Gabilan mountains to the east while the 180/400 aquifer borders the Sierra de Salinas mountains and further south along the Santa Lucia range. As a result, solutions effective in one area may not necessarily work in another.
Over the past several months, the Sustainability Agency Advisory
Committee and the agency’s Board of Directors have been reviewing feasibility studies and technical analyses for a range of potential projects and management actions. These include Aquifer Storage and Recovery, the Brackish Groundwater Restoration Project, Castroville & Eastside Canals and Alternatives, the New Seawater Intrusion Project, optimizing the Castroville Seawater Intrusion Project and demand management measures. Aquifer Storage and Recovery is similar to programs already operating
on the Monterey Peninsula, where excess river flows are captured during wetter periods and injected into the underwater basins for later use.
The Brackish Groundwater Restoration Project was described in detail in a recent Monterey Herald article:
www.montereyherald.com/2026/04/11/950m-water-project-on-drafting-table/
The Eastside Canal concept dates back to the late 1950s but was never constructed. The project involves diverting water from the Salinas River
and injecting it into the groundwater basins or delivering directly for agricultural irrigation. Another major activity under evaluation is demand management, which generally refers to reducing groundwater pumping through a range of possible measures. The studies show that significant pumping reductions could have substantial economic impacts, including reduced agricultural production and related job losses. Under the Sustainable
Groundwater Management Act, groundwater basins are required to
achieve sustainability by 2040, and state intervention is possible if
adequate progress is not made.
As a result, the local Sustainability Agency is considering potential
demand management approaches as part of its broader groundwater sustainability planning and implementation efforts.
The Grand Jury report recommends additional public workshops and Sustainability Agency staff say they support continued public outreach and engagement. They also note that agency meetings are already open to the public and include ongoing stakeholder discussion and input opportunities.
One of the most challenging issues will be determining how to fund and share the costs of any future projects. Long-term success will require broad county-wide collaboration and leadership to bring communities together around shared solutions, Azhderian said. “Certainly, groundwater is a shared resource but, moreover, it is our shared economy that supports the communities and culture we value so much as residents of Monterey County,” he said.
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The Sierra County Civil Grand Jury approves and releases their final report - 2026
Note: this article is behind a paywall after the first access.
2025-2026 Sierra County Grand Jury Releases Final Report | The Mountain Messenger
www.themountainmessenger.org
Independent panel examines local government operations and offers recommendations for improvements.0 CommentsComment on Facebook
Interest soars in San Jose female firefighter boot camp - San José Spotlight
Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury Update from a 2020 GJ Report
sanjosespotlight.com/interest-soars-in-san-jose-female-firefighter-boot-camp/
by Sofia Ruvalcaba
May 20, 2026
Participants at the San Jose Fire Department Women’s Boot Camp practice a victim drag drill using weighted training dummies. More than 120 girls and women signed up for the May 16, 2026 event. Photo by Sofia Ruvalcaba.
Signing up for the San Jose Fire Department Women’s Boot Camp was one of the hottest tickets in town, filling up shortly after the Saturday event opened.
Capt. Corey Condren launched the program in 2018 in an effort to increase the number of women in the SJFD. Her efforts have paid off, growing from 50 participants in the inaugural year to more than 120 this year. The increase in interest also encouraged organizers to lower the minimum age requirement from 18 to 16.
“We’ve seen numbers grow across the Bay because of this event,” Condren told San José Spotlight. “They build relationships and they’re able to meet people that could potentially mentor them in the future. It’s just giving them a platform to make that connection.”
San Jose Fire Department Capt. Corey Condren speaks with participants at a SJFD Women’s Boot Camp question and answer session. Photo courtesy of the San Jose Fire Department.
Department leadership has pointed to broader efforts to increase the number of women firefighters, as the program exists alongside ongoing conversations about low representation within the department.
In 2020, despite being the largest fire department in the region, SJFD had the lowest number of female firefighters due to a hostile work environment, according to a Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury report. Condren, among others, set out to change the culture.
The report on the lack of female firefighters offered recommendations for how the male-dominated profession could better reflect the county’s demographics by hiring more women.
Some of these recommendations included a new Firefighter (non-engineer) classification to be applied to all recruitments, lowering the recruitment age from 21 to 18, the removal of the Firefighter 1 certificate prerequisite and reducing the probationary period from 18 months to 12 months.
The report surveyed nearly 1,500 firefighters across four departments and 96 fire stations in the county. It found that only 4% of firefighters were women — far below the 17% target recommended by Women in Fire, an advocacy group.
As of 2026, the San Jose Fire Department has 650 sworn firefighters, including 37 women or roughly 5.7% of the workforce compared to just 16, or 2%, in 2020.
Returning participant Aundrea Burkhead-Todorovits, who is in the fire academy and three weeks away from graduation as a firefighter-paramedic, said the boot camp program motivated her to join.
“This event was a great insight into what a day in the academy might be like,” Burkhead-Todorovits told San José Spotlight.
Burkhead-Todorovits said she was inspired by the opportunity to complete a difficult workout alongside like-minded people. “Fire service is all about the people,” she said. “I think making all the connections was pivotal for me.”
Participants at the San Jose Fire Department Women’s Boot Camp complete a sled push exercise as part of a circuit workout. Photo by Sofia Ruvalcaba.
This is the seventh year of the boot camp, which features an intensive circuit workout and demonstrations by professional firefighters. Condren said the event also gives participants an opportunity to ask questions in a safe space about breaking into a male-dominated field.
“I hated being the only woman all the time,” Condren said.
Condren said she pitched the program to Fire Chief Robert Sapien Jr. after three years in the department, when there were only 16 women serving alongside her. She said physical fitness is a common point of connection among women on the job. Historically it’s been one of the barriers for newcomers because there haven’t been any female mentors.
“The idea behind this is that we do a really hard workout,” Condren, who joined the department in 2014, said. “We don’t pull punches. If you can do this workout and you’re good to go, you could probably start fire academy.”
The event is entirely women run and led, a decision Condren, who is also a paramedic, said is intentional. In addition to the workout stations, the boot camp also features female therapy dog handlers where participants can take breaks, along with female volunteers stationed with food, water and first aid.
Dian Duong, a fire inspector and firefighter with SJFD, said the event is designed to show women, nonbinary and gender-expansive individuals that a career in the fire service is attainable, emphasizing the importance of representation and visibility within the profession.
Duong is also a co-owner and coach at FireLine Fit, a Sunnyvale-based fitness facility that prepares individuals for fire academy training.
“Growing up, I never knew becoming a firefighter was an option for me,” Duong told San José Spotlight. “That’s why events like this are so important. It was powerful to see participants ranging from 16 years old to adults challenge themselves, build confidence and connect not only with our staff, but with one another.”
Burkhead-Todorovits said encouraging woman at the boot camp is personal.
“I feel very lucky to be here and to get to be one of the few women who will inspire other women to join as well,” Burkhead-Todorovits said. “Women can absolutely do it too. It’s not an easy job, but if you’re willing to put in the work, absolutely you can do it.”
Interest soars in San Jose female firefighter boot camp - San José Spotlight
sanjosespotlight.com
Signing up for the San Jose Fire Department Women's Boot Camp was one of the hottest tickets in town, filling up shortly after the event opened. Capt. Corey Condren launched the program in 2018 in an ...0 CommentsComment on Facebook
www.ksbw.com/article/monterey-county-jail-booking-delays-officers-off-patrol/71256395
Grand Jury says Monterey County jail booking delays can keep officers off patrol for hours
KSBW Action News 8, May 8, 2026, by Ricardo Tovar
A Civil Grand Jury found that booking arrestees into the Monterey County Jail can sometimes take hours, pulling deputies and police officers off patrol, reducing law enforcement coverage in the field, or forcing other officers to cover the area.
The report says delays often happen at the jail intake area and can get even longer when arrestees need medical clearance at Natividad Medical Center.
In some cases, the full booking process can take more than eight hours when lines are long.
While deputies and officers said the booking process itself usually takes 30 to 45 minutes, the full arrest-to-return process can take about two hours under ideal conditions and much longer when delays occur.
“During this time, officers may wait in line to enter the sally port, a secure parking area at the Jail that serves as a waiting area for officers and arrestees. They may also spend additional time at a hospital when medical clearance is required,” the grand jury report said.
Officers can complete reports or other administrative work in or around patrol vehicles. This helps offset some lost time, but does not eliminate the operational impact of being off patrol, according to the grand jury report.
“If the body scan is clear, the arrestee continues with the medical questionnaire. The form contains 160 questions for men and 179 for women and is completed before being entered into the Jail Management System. The nurse’s assessment incorporates the arrestee’s responses and the nurse’s observations. Under typical conditions, this process takes 30 minutes to an hour,” the grand jury report said.
The grand jury said these delays affect every law enforcement agency in Monterey County, increasing overtime costs, straining patrol staffing and creating uncertainty for local departments.
It also found that recent changes, including more medical staff and expanded workspace, may help, but their long-term impact has not yet been formally measured.
The grand jury’s recommendations:
• Create a written system to measure and report booking times and delays
• Compare booking performance before and after the CHP transition over six months
• Study long-term intake area changes to improve processing during busy periods
• Create written procedures for medical-clearance transports and required documentation
• Study ways to reduce duplicate manual data entry between agencies and the jail
• Form a formal working group with local law enforcement on booking issues
• Create a consolidated booking operations guide for outside law enforcement agencies
• Create written guidance on when and where officers should get medical clearance
www.montereyherald.com/2026/05/04/grand-jury-report-calls-for-more-resources-for-first-responder-...
Grand jury says Monterey County jail booking delays can keep officers off patrol for hours
www.ksbw.com
A Civil Grand Jury found that booking arrestees into the Monterey County Jail can sometimes take hours, pulling deputies and police officers off patrol, reducing law enforcement coverage in the field,...0 CommentsComment on Facebook
www.ksbw.com/article/grand-jury-monterey-county-digital-radio-coverage-emergency/71256137
Grand Jury says 42% of Monterey County lacks reliable digital radio coverage for fire emergencies
KSBW Action News 8, May 8, 2026, by Ricardo Tovar
A grand jury has found that Monterey County’s fire districts in unincorporated areas have major radio communication gaps because of rugged terrain, outdated equipment and limited funding.
The report says these dead zones can leave firefighters and residents at risk during emergencies.
The county’s Next Generation Radio Network is testing newer technology, including LTE, Wi-Fi and satellite-supported systems, but it does not yet have enough funding for a full rollout.
Many fire districts also cannot afford the newer radios needed to work across all systems.
“The County Fire Districts’ primary source of funding is their allocation of the property taxes collected under State Assembly Bill 8. These revenues were severely affected by Proposition 13, passed in 1978, which limited property tax reassessments primarily to the time of property sales. The County has not identified a dedicated funding mechanism specifically for radio modernization in unincorporated fire districts,” the grand jury report said.
These fire districts include the Monterey Peninsula Airport District, Aromas Tri-County Fire Protection District, Cachagua Fire Protection District, Carmel Highlands Fire Protection District, Cypress Fire Protection District, Gonzales Rural Fire Protection District, Greenfield Fire Protection District, Mission-Soledad Rural Fire Protection District, North County Fire Protection District, Monterey County Regional Fire Protection District and South Monterey County Fire Protection District.
The grand jury found:
• About 42% of the county lacks reliable digital radio coverage
• About 18% lacks usable analog coverage
• Firefighters often must manually switch radio modes depending on location
• Funding for upgrades is a major problem, especially for rural districts
The report says adding more repeater towers could significantly improve radio coverage, but the most effective tower sites are often in remote areas without roads or installation platforms, pushing the cost of a single tower to more than $1 million.
Multiple towers would be needed to close the county’s communication dead zones, and the county currently does not have funding for that solution.
According to Monterey County’s Information Technology Department, analog and digital radio systems together cover about 73.3% of the county’s land area, reaching an estimated 99.5% of the population.
Still, the remaining uncovered areas, though sparsely populated, are vulnerable during wildfires and other emergencies where reliable communication is critical.
The grand jury recommends that the Monterey County Board of Supervisors create a countywide upgrade plan by Dec. 31, 2026, outlining the equipment upgrades and infrastructure needs.
The report also recommends the county study funding options for radio upgrades in rural fire districts by March 31, 2027, and create a plan to help financially strained districts obtain radios compatible with the county’s emergency system.
The Board of Supervisors is required to respond to the findings and recommendations within 90 days.
Grand jury says 42% of Monterey County lacks reliable digital radio coverage for fire emergencies
www.ksbw.com
A grand jury has found that Monterey County’s fire districts in unincorporated areas have major radio communication gaps because of rugged terrain, outdated equipment and limited funding.2 CommentsComment on Facebook
southtahoenow.com/05/11/2026/county-jails-focus-of-latest-civil-grand-jury-report
El Dorado County Grand Jury News
COUNTY JAILS FOCUS OF LATEST GRAND JURY REPORT
County jails focus of latest Civil Grand Jury Report
SouthTahoeNOW.com, May 11, 2026, by News Release
EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. – Security is a top priority at El Dorado County jails and detention centers. The Sheriff’s Office and Probation Department take that responsibility seriously, according to the 2025-2026 El Dorado County Civil Grand Jury (Grand Jury) report of El Dorado County jails at South Lake Tahoe, Placerville, and the South Lake Tahoe Juvenile Treatment Center.
The report, “El Dorado County Detention Centers,” was published recently at www.eldoradocounty.ca.gov/files/assets/county/v/3/documents/public-safety-amp-justice/grand-jury/... by the Superior Court, which annually appoints 19 county residents as grand jurors to serve as citizen watchdogs over local government.
The Grand Jury investigation included site visits, interviews, and a review of previous state and local reports. Conditions at all facilities are acceptable, but the Grand Jury raised concerns over staffing levels and vacancies.
According to the report, “the Sheriff’s Office has made progress in recruitment by streamlining the application and testing process. The staffing concern requires additional action to ensure appropriate staffing levels at both the South Lake Tahoe and Placerville locations.”
The Grand Jury cited the expansion project at the Placerville Jail scheduled for completion in 2026 that will add 22,000 square feet to the facility. The expansion will add a new medical services area, female housing, and other ancillary services. The report notes that the expansion will not add to inmate capacity. The Grand Jury has concerns that this expansion amplifies the need to fill vacant positions for correctional officers and jail staff, especially at the Placerville jail.
The Grand Jury gave two recommendations:
1. The El Dorado County Civil Grand Jury recommends the Board of Supervisors
direct the Director of Human Resources to conduct a compensation study for
Correctional Officers. The study should consider comparing with neighboring counties in State of Nevada to be completed no later than December 9, 2026.
2. The El Dorado County Civil Grand Jury recommends the Sheriff, in cooperation with the Director of Human Resources, develop a plan for recruitment opportunities to specifically address the application process, testing, training, and incentives for open positions located in South Lake Tahoe by December 9, 2026.
All findings and recommendations can be found in the full report on the County website. Under California law, the El Dorado County Sheriff and Board of Supervisors must respond to the Grand Jury report within 60 to 90 days, respectively.
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CGJA Journal
This bimonthly journal is a major source of information about the civil grand jury system and recent updates on CGJA activities of interest to our members.
The Gift of Your Time
is Priceless
CGJA is an all-volunteer membership organization. We succeed mainly because our members volunteer to serve on our committees and/or train civil grand jurors. Serving on committees almost never requires travel as we communicate via email and computer video. Our trainers do travel to venues throughout the state and we reimburse them for lodging, mileage, and a modest per diem for other expenses.
