SGMA in the News

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

NEW Take Our Water Quality Survey

The Department of Water Resources (DWR) invites you to participate in a survey on water quality as it relates to the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act and the Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) regulations. The survey will provide DWR’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Program (SGMP) with feedback on water quality concerns. The survey results will inform DWR’s continued assistance and guidance to Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) as they prepare and implement GSPs. The survey will be available until October 10, 2018, and can be accessed here .

If you have questions or comments, please email sgmps@water.ca.gov .

NEW Frequently Asked Questions Updated

The 2018 SGMA Basin Prioritization Frequently Asked Questions have been updated.

REMINDER Basin Boundary Modifications Submission Period Ends September 28, 2018

The submission period for Basin Boundary Modifications ends at 11:59 p.m., this Friday, September 28, 2018. All information to support basin boundary modifications must be submitted on the Basin Boundary Modifications Request System .

For more information, contact Dane Mathis at dane.mathis@water.ca.gov or (559) 230-3354.

REMINDER Basin Boundary Modifications Public Comment Period Ends Oct. 31

Public comment on Basin Boundary Modifications ends on Wednesday, October 31, 2018. Comments must be submitted using the SGMA Portal – Basin Boundary Modification Request System .

For questions or more information, contact Dane Mathis at dane.mathis@water.ca.gov or (559) 230-3354.

REMINDER Submit Your GSP Initial Notification

GSAs are required to notify DWR, in writing, prior to initiating development of a GSP. GSAs must submit all applicable GSP initial notification information to DWR using the SGMA Portal – GSP Initial Notification System . Once an Initial Notification has been submitted, if changes need to be made, the SGMA Portal – GSP Initial Notification System allows edits to be made from the GSA’s login account, including the ability to withdraw a submittal.

Also, remember, “If the geographic area to be covered by the plan includes a public water system regulated by the Public Utilities Commission, the groundwater sustainability agency shall provide the written statement to the commission.” See Water Code § 10727.8.

For more information, please see Frequently Asked Questions on GSP Initial Notification Requirements or contact the Regional Coordinators in DWR’s four Regional Offices. For assistance with the system, please email monica.reis@water.ca.gov .

Connect with Your Basin Point-of-Contact

DWR has designated Basin Points-of-Contact to assist local agencies and GSAs as GSPs are developed and implemented and to assist with applications for Technical Support Services and Facilitation Support Services. To determine your basin point of contact, please see the following links that provide maps and contact information:

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

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

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

From the Soledad Bee:

“Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency is looking at two options to impose fees on groundwater users.

The fee options come as the next phase in the state’s goal to manage groundwater resources. The ultimate goal of the agency is to create sustainable management practices considering the next 20 to 40 years of groundwater.

The agency began with three options for a fee schedule to fund its operational costs.

The fee revenue is projected to start funding costs in July 2019. … “

Read more from the Soledad Bee here:  Groundwater agency looking at user fee options

From EDF’s Market Forces blog:

California’s landscape will transform in a changing climate. While extended drought and recent wildfires seasons have sparked conversations about acute impacts today, the promise of changes to come is no less worrying. Among the challenges for water management:

• The Sierra Nevada mountain range – an important source of water storage for the entire state – is expected to see a 60% reduction in total snowpack by the end of the century, along with earlier melting times.
• Average July temperatures in California’s Central Valley – an indispensable agricultural region – are expected to rise by up to 3.9 °F by 2050, reducing yields for many crops and stressing irrigation demand.
• Precipitation is expected to become less predictable throughout the state.

These changes will make water resources less reliable when they are needed most, rendering water storage an even more important feature of the state’s water system.

Continue reading at the Market Forces blog here:  What California’s history of groundwater depletion can teach us about successful collective action

From the San Luis Obispo Tribune:

“A jury this week affirmed that public water suppliers in the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin have established rights to use underground water supplies consistent with historical practice even during times of shortage, San Luis Obispo County officials said in a news release.

The jury reached the verdict Sept. 24 after a month-long trial, finding that public water suppliers —including the county, the city of Paso Robles, Templeton Community Services District and San Miguel Community Services District — have established a “prescriptive right.” … “

Read more from the San Luis Obispo Tribune here: SLO County claims a victory in ongoing legal battle with landowners over water rights

From KSBY:

“A Santa Clara County jury decided this week that public water suppliers in San Luis Obispo County have the right to use water from the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin to supply the communities they serve, county officials announced Wednesday.  Those suppliers include the City of Paso Robles, County of San Luis Obispo, Templeton Community Services District, and San Miguel Community Services District.

North County property owners filed the “quiet title” lawsuit in 2013. At issue was whether the landowners’ right to use groundwater takes precedence over the public water suppliers and if, during times of shortage, the public suppliers would have to cease pumping from the groundwater basin. … “

Read more from KSBY here: Jury reaches verdict in trial over Paso Robles Groundwater Basin rights

From the Marin Independent Journal:

“Marin County is modifying the boundaries of two of its five groundwater basins to avoid having to create a new agency to monitor one basin and make a plan for recharging it, as mandated by state law.

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday authorized modifying the boundaries of the Sand Point Area Basin, which is adjacent to the Wilson Grove Basin, underlying the Dillon Beach and Lawson’s Landing area. The Sand Point Area Basin has been designated as low priority.

Sand Point Area Basin’s boundaries will be adjusted to encompass the portion of the Wilson Grove Basin that extends into Marin, thereby relieving the county of its responsibility to form an agency and develop a plan. … “

Read more from the Marin Independent Journal here:  Marin cedes supervision of water basin to Sonoma County

From the Bakersfield Californian:

“Concerns are rising Kern might lose local control over groundwater pumping — an activity vital to farmers, ranchers, oil producers and others — after county officials moved to scale back their own oversight role.

The county informed property owners Aug. 24 it does not have the expertise or the money to actively manage groundwater use in portions of Kern where no other management authority exists. It encouraged them to join a local water district or form their own management organization, either of which would be expected to come up with a plan for making the practice sustainable. … “

Read more from the Bakersfield Californian here:  Kern County downsizes groundwater management role, raising concerns of state intervention

From the Modesto Bee:

“Stanislaus County will ask the state Supreme Court for a ruling on whether environmental review is a necessary step for a new water well.

In August, a state appeals court overturned the Stanislaus Superior Court’s decision in the Protecting Our Water lawsuit, which sought an injunction against county well permit approvals. The plaintiffs claimed the county was violating the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in approving well permits without considering environmental harm.  … “

Read more from the Modesto Bee here:  Stanislaus County appeals ruling that would make it harder for farmers to dig wells

Guest commentary by Don A. Wright at WaterWrights.net:

“Just when things are starting to get back to normal after the recent drought, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 has sucked all the oxygen out of the room. It’s common for irrigation and water district general managers to spend at least half their time and talent on dealing with the requirements of this law. Many have said this is the most impactful piece of water legislation since 1914 when the Water Commission Act formalized the appropriation system and centralized appropriative water right records at the state level (now the State Water Resources Control Board). Under the act, the state required new appropriators to obtain a permit from the state prior to diverting water but left groundwater alone.

The Valley’s aquifer is showing the stress of over pumping and some very real dangers lie ahead if this trend isn’t reversed. While there is plenty of room to blame misguided water policy from Sacramento – the blame won’t correct the problem. In fact most experts and laymen alike don’t see a way for business to return to usual. …

I asked some people whose opinions I respect; what can a farmer do to protect his assets? Here are some of the answers.

To read the full commentary, click here: GUEST COMMENTARY: SGMA – What’s a Farmer to Do?

From Stanford’s Water in the West:

“Local agencies in critically overdrafted groundwater basins in California have less than a year and a half to draft their plans to achieve sustainable groundwater management. These Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs), formed under California’s 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), will need to avoid six specified “undesirable results” ranging from seawater intrusion and degraded water quality to land subsidence.

A new report by Water in the West visiting scholar Letty Belin guides these agencies through how to understand and comply with the requirement that GSAs must not cause “significant and unreasonable adverse impacts on beneficial uses of surface water.” … “

Read more from Stanford’s Water in the West here: Avoiding ‘Adverse Impacts’ of Groundwater Pumping on Surface Waters.