BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
Government Code § 84308 Applies: Yes ☐ No ☒
(If “YES” Complete Attachment A - Gov. Code § 84308)
SUBJECT: Title
Approve Memorandum of Understanding for Cost Sharing Between Santa Clara Valley Water District and San Benito County Water District for an Updated North San Benito Groundwater Basin Groundwater Sustainability Plan in the Amount of $1,634 Annually and $8,170 Over a Five-Year Term.
End
RECOMMENDATION: Recommendation
A. Approve Memorandum of Understanding for Cost Sharing Between Santa Clara Valley Water District and San Benito County Water District for development and implementation of a Groundwater Sustainability Plan Update for the North San Benito Groundwater Basin in the Amount of $1,634 annually and $8,170 over a five-year term; and
B. Authorize the Chief Executive Officer, or their designee, to sign the Memorandum of Understanding.
Body
SUMMARY:
Under California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), Santa Clara Valley Water District (Valley Water) serves as the exclusive Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) for the Santa Clara and Llagas subbasins that are entirely within Santa Clara County. The Department of Water Resources (DWR) has approved Valley Water’s Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) Alternative for the management of these basins.
In addition to these groundwater basins, Valley Water also serves as the GSA for the very small portion of the North San Benito Subbasin located within Santa Clara County. San Benito County Water District (SBCWD) is the GSA for the rest of this Subbasin located in San Benito County. In 2017, Valley Water and SBCWD entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the sharing of costs and responsibilities for the development of a GSP for the North San Benito Subbasin. In 2023, DWR approved the 2021 GSP for the management of this basin.
Under SGMA, GSP and GSP alternatives must be updated every five years and submitted to DWR for review and approval. SBCWD is in the process of preparing the five-year update to the North San Benito Subbasin GSP and seeks Valley Water’s approval of sharing these costs proportionately to the amount of basin land located within Santa Clara County.
This MOU sets forth an agreement to share costs (and some management responsibilities) for developing, implementing, and enforcing the updated GSP for the North San Benito Subbasin within Santa Clara County.
Valley Water will contribute a proportional share of the costs ($0.60 per acre) incurred by SBCWD for development of the GSP, based on the amount of land (2,724 acres) above the North San Benito Subbasin that is located within Santa Clara County. Valley Water’s payment obligation to SBCWD is $1,634 annually, or $8,170 total over the five-year term of the MOU.
The MOU term is from the effective date of July 1, 2026 until five years thereafter, unless mutually agreed in writing.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IMPACT:
There are no environmental justice impacts associated with this item.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
This MOU specifies that Valley Water’s cost sharing payment to San Benito County Water District will be $1,634 annually, or $8,170 total over the five-year term. There is adequate funding for these payments in the Hollister Groundwater Management project (Project No. 60041003) in the FY2026-27 Adopted Budget.
CEQA:
The recommended action does not constitute a project under CEQA because it does not have the potential for resulting in direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect change in the physical environment.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: MOU
UNCLASSIFIED MANAGER: Manager
Greg Williams, 408-630-2867