COMMITTEE AGENDA MEMORANDUM
Agricultural Water Advisory Committee
Government Code § 84308 Applies: Yes ? No ?
(If “YES” Complete Attachment A – Gov. Code § 84308)
SUBJECT: title
Receive an Update on the Periodic Evaluation of the Groundwater Basin Plans Pursuant to the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.
End
RECOMMENDATION: Recommendation
Receive an update on the periodic evaluation of the Groundwater Basin Plans pursuant to the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.
Body
SUMMARY:
Under California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), Valley Water serves as the Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) for the Santa Clara and Llagas subbasins that are entirely within Santa Clara County. Valley Water has a Department of Water Resources (DWR) approved Alternative to a Groundwater Sustainability Plan (Alternative Plan) governing the management of these basins. Additionally, Valley Water serves as a GSA with San Benito County Water District (SBCWD) for the North San Benito Subbasin, a small portion of which is located in southern Santa Clara County. This basin is managed pursuant to a DWR-approved Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP).
Valley Water staff last updated the Agricultural Water Advisory Committee (Committee) on July 6, 2026 with an informational update regarding the dry water supply well analysis during the last drought and outreach plan for the required five-year periodic evaluation of the Alternative Plan that is due to DWR by December 17, 2026. This will be the second periodic evaluation and update of the Alternative Plan and is also referred to as the 2026 Groundwater Management Plan (GWMP). Since that Committee meeting, staff received notice from DWR that the 2025 Annual Water Year Report (Annual Report) met the requirements of SGMA. The Annual Report shows continued healthy and sustainable groundwater conditions in the Santa Clara and Llagas subbasins.
This Committee update summarizes progress on the periodic ev...
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