A. Critical aquifer recharge areas provide the public with clean, safe, and available drinking water and contribute base flows to protect aquatic resources. Once groundwater is contaminated or depleted, it is difficult, costly, and sometimes impossible to clean up or to recharge.

B. The purpose of this article is to protect critical aquifer recharge areas from degradation or depletion resulting from new and redeveloping land use activities. Due to the potential vulnerability of groundwater underlying certain aquifer recharge areas to contamination and the importance of such groundwater as sources of public water supply, it is the intent of this article to safeguard groundwater resources by mitigating or precluding future discharges of contaminants from new development activities and redevelopment activities. (Ord. 3064 § 2 (Att. A), 2021)