Category: Announcements

NEW Submit Fall Groundwater Level Data to CASGEM in October

Monitoring Entities for the California Statewide Groundwater Elevation Monitoring (CASGEM) Program are asked to submit fall 2020 groundwater level measurements to the CASGEM Online System (OS) in October. The data is due within 30 days of collection, and no later than December 31.

The Department of Water Resources (DWR) understands the COVID-19 pandemic and state emergency declarations may interfere with timely data collection. If fall data cannot be collected in a timely manner, then a “no measurement code” should be submitted.

Monitoring wells in a basin/subbasin that are not transferred to a groundwater sustainability agency (GSA) remain associated with the original agency and have automatically been designated as voluntary wells in the CASGEM OS. DWR encourages the continued monitoring of these wells because groundwater level data is important for understanding conditions within the basin.

For technical issues or questions, please connect with your Region Office CASGEM contact found on the CASGEM webpage.

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NEW Members Wanted for Well Standards Technical Advisory Committee

DWR is forming a Technical Advisory Committee for the update to DWR Bulletin 74, California Well Standards. The committee will convene from March 2021 to March 2022 and members will break out into smaller groups to focus on specific issues.

If you’re interested in joining the committee, please email Julie Haas by October 9, 2020, at Julie.Haas@water.ca.gov.

Submit ideas or comments related to California Well Standards on the Bulletin 74 comment portal and sign up to receive emailed updates and announcements.

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NEW Application Deadline Extended for SGMA Watershed Coordinator Grant Program

The application deadline for the California Department of Conservation SGMA Watershed Coordinator Grant Program has been extended to October 15, 2020, because of the statewide fire emergency.

The grant provides funds for watershed coordinator positions and projects in high- and medium-priority basins. Special districts, GSAs, GSAs with approved alternatives, nonprofit groups, local governments, and tribes may apply.

For questions, email wcp@conservation.ca.gov or call (916) 324-0850.

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NEW DWR Publishes Article on Community Member Involvement in Groundwater Planning

A new digital article Clean, Reliable Water: How to Get a Seat at the Table for Groundwater Planning is available on the DWR website. The article explains how community members can be involved in groundwater planning.

Additional articles can be viewed on the DWR Updates webpage.

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REMINDER Written Translation Services Available

DWR’s written translation service is available to help with communication to non-English speaking constituents. Translation services for materials are available in Chinese, Hmong, Korean, Laotian, Punjabi, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. Applicants can submit up to 5,000 words per basin/subbasin.

For details, visit the Written Translation tab on the Assistance and Engagement webpage.

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REMINDER Public Meetings Can Be Held Remotely During Pandemic

Governor Newsom’s Executive Order N-25-20 encourages elected officials to conduct public meetings by teleconference or other electronic venue during the pandemic. The order temporarily waives requirements in the Bagley-Keene Act and Brown Act as long as specific requirements are met. The order applies to GSAs and others involved in the implementation of SGMA.

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REMINDER Submit Your GSP Initial Notification

Before starting a GSP, agencies are required to notify DWR in writing using the SGMA Portal – GSP Initial Notification System. The portal allows edits to be made to previously submitted Initial Notifications, including the ability to withdraw a submittal.

For more information, contact the regional coordinators in DWR’s four Regional Offices. For assistance with the system, email Monica.Reis@water.ca.gov.

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Connect with Your Basin Point of Contact

DWR has designated basin points of contact to assist local agencies as they develop and implement their plans and to assist with applications for Technical Support Services and Facilitation Support Services.

• • • Northern Region
    • North Central Region
    • South Central Region
    • Southern Region

For regional inquiries, contact sgmp_rc@water.ca.gov.

For general inquiries, contact sgmps@water.ca.gov.

From the Department of Water Resources Sustainable Groundwater Management Office

GSP Public Comment Period Ending Soon

Public comments on the first set of Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs) are due May 15, 2020. The next comment period closes June 3, 2020.

The Department of Water Resources (DWR) extended public comment periods for submitted GSPs by 30 days due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Comment periods vary based on when a plan was posted to the DWR website.

DWR encourages public review and comment on submitted plans which show how local water agencies plan to manage groundwater basins for long-term sustainability. Comments can be posted and viewed online on the DWR SGMA Portal and a SGMA Portal account is not necessary.

Information about how to comment on a plan can be found in fact sheets in English and Spanish.

For questions, email sgmps@water.ca.gov.

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Draft Report on Drought and Water Shortage Vulnerability Released

DWR recently released the draft Small Water Suppliers and Rural Communities at Risk of Drought and Water Shortage Vulnerability and Recommendations and Guidance to Address the Planning Needs of these Communities report. The report provides information for GSAs to consider and incorporate into future updates to GSPs and will help inform management decisions as these plans are implemented.

DWR created a new online Water Shortage Risk tool that can be used to explore the relative risk assessment of small water suppliers and rural communities in groundwater basins.

The public comment period ends June 19, 2020. Two webinars will be scheduled to discuss the report recommendations and the Water Shortage Risk tool.

Comments can be submitted online or emailed to DroughtRisk@water.ca.gov.

More information is available on the Countywide Drought and Water Shortage Contingency Plans webpage.

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SVSim Beta Model Released

DWR has released the beta version of the Sacramento Valley Groundwater-Surface Water Simulation Model (SVSim) that can be used during GSP development. Instructions for use are included in the Roadmap to Running SVSim document. A calibrated version of SVSim is expected in fall 2020.

For questions or more information, please email Linda Bond at Linda.Bond@water.ca.gov or Chris Bonds at Chris.Bonds@water.ca.gov.

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View Video on Draft Water Budget Development Handbook Webinar

The April 21 webinar for the Handbook for Water Budget Development: With or Without Models is now available online. The webinar focuses on challenging water budget topics. The handbook presents existing information on various methods and data sources for developing water budgets and can help in the development of water budgets for any geographic area and time period.

The public comment period for the handbook was extended by 30 days because of the pandemic and closes May 7, 2020. Email comments to cwpcom@water.ca.gov, attention Abdul Khan.

For more information, view Frequently Asked Questions on the Water Budget Handbook or visit the Reports tab on the Data and Tools webpage.

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REMINDER Public Meetings Can Be Held Remotely During Pandemic

Governor Newsom’s Executive Order N-25-20 encourages elected officials to conduct public meetings by teleconference or other electronic venue during the pandemic. The order temporarily waives requirements in the Bagley-Keene Act and Brown Act as long as specific requirements are met. The order applies to groundwater sustainability agencies and others involved in the implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.

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REMINDER Written Translation Service Available

DWR’s written translation service is available to help with communication to non-English speaking constituents. Translation services for materials are available in Chinese, Hmong, Korean, Laotian, Punjabi, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.

Visit the Written Translation tab on the Assistance and Engagement webpage for details.

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REMINDER Submit Your GSP Initial Notification

Before starting a GSP, agencies are required to notify DWR in writing using the SGMA Portal – GSP Initial Notification System. The portal allows edits to be made to previously submitted Initial Notifications, including the ability to withdraw a submittal.

For more information, contact the regional coordinators in DWR’s four Regional Offices. For assistance with the system, email monica.reis@water.ca.gov.

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Connect with Your Basin Point of Contact

DWR has designated basin points of contact to assist local agencies as they develop and implement their plans and to assist with applications for Technical Support Services and Facilitation Support Services.

• Northern Region
• North Central Region
• South Central Region
• Southern Region

For regional inquiries, contact sgmp_rc@water.ca.gov.

For general inquiries, contact sgmps@water.ca.gov.

On February 7, the California Department of Water Resources released a draft Handbook for Water Budget Development: With or Without Models (Water Budget Handbook), a single-volume, technical reference that systematically presents existing information on various methods and data sources for developing water budgets. The Water Budget Handbook can help in the development of water budgets for any geographic area and time period, and uses modeling and non-modeling approaches. Public comment is now open on the draft document and closes on May 7, 2020. More information about the development of the handbook can be found in the Water Budget Handbook Story Map. A recording of the high-level overview webinar of the Water Budget handbook from March 12th is available for viewing.

Please join us for an interactive public webinar intended to help water budget developers make better use of the Water Budget Handbook. Please take this short survey on water budget development. DWR will the use the results of the survey to tailor the content for the interactive webinar. Please register for the webinar to participate.

The agenda will cover discussion and Q&A of resources and techniques available in the Water Budget Handbook relating to the components or aspects of water budget development that are identified as being the most challenging/important in the survey.

From the Department of Water Resources, Sustainable Groundwater Management Office:

DWR Operations Continue

The Department of Water Resources (DWR) is focused on ensuring continued operations while modifying the way we work in the face of the coronavirus to maintain critical functions and protect our staff. DWR staff supporting the Sustainable Groundwater Management Program continue to work and are available to answer questions and provide assistance via email, phone, and web-based meetings.

Fall 2019 Statewide Groundwater Level Change Maps Available

Groundwater level change maps for fall 2019 are available on the DWR website. These maps present a summary of groundwater level trends with multi-year comparisons.

SGMA Data Viewer Updated with Subsidence Information

New subsidence information covering the period of June 2018 to September 2019 has been added to the SGMA Data Viewer under land subsidence. This information can help groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs), water managers and the public implement the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).

For more information and additional SGMA related data and tools, visit DWR’s Groundwater Data and Tools webpage and the California Natural Resources Open Data Platform.

For questions, email sgmps.water.ca.gov.

Public Comment Opens for Draft Upper and Lower San Luis Rey Basin Prioritization

DWR today announced draft Basin Prioritization results for the Upper and Lower San Luis Rey Basins in San Diego County. The prioritization was conducted in response to Senate Bill 779, effective January 1, 2020, which changed the Bulletin 118 basin boundaries of these two groundwater basins. DWR is required to reassess basin prioritization any time Bulletin 118 basin boundaries change.

The Department will hold a 15-day public comment period on the draft Basin Prioritization for these two basins. Email comments to sgmps@water.ca.gov by April 8, 2020.

For more information, visit the SGMA Basin Prioritization webpage or California Natural Resources Agency’s Open Data.

REMINDER: GSP Public Comment Period Extended

Due to ongoing health and safety concerns, DWR is extending its original GSP public comment periods by 30 days. The new deadlines are May 15, 2020, and June 3, 2020.

DWR encourages public comment on recently submitted plans that show how local water agencies plan to manage groundwater basins for long-term sustainability. Comments can be posted online on the DWR SGMA Portal and a SGMA Portal account is not necessary.

Information about how to comment on a plan can be found in fact sheets in English and Spanish.

For questions, email sgmps@water.ca.gov.

Update on Annual Report Submittals

Due to ongoing health and safety concerns, DWR will accept annual reports for the prior water year after the April 1, 2020 deadline from basins with adopted GSPs, approved and pending alternatives to GSPs, and adjudicated areas. The reports can be viewed by the public once they are submitted on the SGMA Portal. The reports provide information on groundwater conditions and management activities for the prior water year.

GSP Annual Reports

Downloadable templates for basin-wide data are available on the GSP Reporting System webpage and must be submitted with the annual report. For questions or more information, email GSPSubmittal@water.ca.gov.

Additional resources are also available:

• Annual Report Elements Guide
• GSP Annual Report Module User Manual
• Frequently Asked Questions on 2020 GSP Annual Reports

Alternative to GSP Annual Reports

Alternative Annual Reports will be submitted the same as previous years using the Alternative Reporting System. For questions or more information, email GSPSubmittal@water.ca.gov.

Adjudicated Area Annual Reports

Adjudicated area annual reports will be submitted the same as previous years using the Adjudicated Basins Annual Reporting System. For questions or more information, email Timothy.Ross@water.ca.gov.

Connect with Your Basin Point of Contact

DWR has designated Basin Points of Contact to assist local agencies and GSAs as they develop and implement their plans and to assist with applications for Technical Support Services and Facilitation Support Services.

• Northern Region
• North Central Region
• South Central Region
• Southern Region

For regional inquiries, contact sgmp_rc@water.ca.gov.

For general inquiries, contact sgmps@water.ca.gov.