BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT:
Title
Resolution Memorializing the Process to Regulate Groundwater Extraction under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, if Needed.
End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Adopt the Resolution MEMORIALIZING THE PROCESS TO REGULATE GROUNDWATER EXTRACTION UNDER THE SUSTAINABLE GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT ACT, IF NEEDED.
Body
SUMMARY:
The Santa Clara Valley Water District (District) has sustainably managed the Santa Clara and Llagas subbasins for many decades under the authority of the District Act. The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), enacted by the state in 2014, requires local agencies to develop and implement plans to sustainably manage groundwater and provides them with various, related authorities.
The proposed resolution (Attachment 1) and the accompanying presentation (Attachment 2) lay out a proposed process for the District, in coordination with stakeholders, to address worsening basin conditions through a process that may rely on SGMA authorities to regulate groundwater extraction.
BACKGROUND:
To comply with SGMA planning requirements, the District developed the 2016 Groundwater Management Plan for the Santa Clara and Llagas Subbasins (GWMP) as a prescribed alternative to a Groundwater Sustainability Plan. The GWMP describes the subbasins, as well as groundwater management goals, strategies, programs, and numeric outcome measures. It also recognizes new SGMA authorities, like the ability to regulate groundwater extraction and collect different fees, as potential tools to support continued sustainability. On November 22, 2016, the District Board of Directors (Board) adopted the GWMP following a public hearing. Several related comment letters expressed concerns with water rights and the potential regulation of pumping. The Board referred stakeholder engagement in evaluating new SGMA authorities to the Water Conservation and Demand Management Committee (Committee).
The Committee met nine times betw...
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