How is Californias landmark groundwater law impacting Sonoma County?
For more stories on drought, go here. This story is part of a new quarterly special section at The Press Democrat focusing on stories and issues of community-wide importance. This edition, publishing in print on June 27, is focusing on how the drought is affecting our everyday lives. Read all the stories here. The drought is intensifying efforts to conserve all of Sonoma Countys water resources, including a supply that has eluded oversight until recently: groundwater. But even as plans for groundwater monitoring and sustainable use proceed, tensions are building over its management. The authority to evaluate and regulate groundwater comes from a 2014 law crafted in the middle of the states last drought. It authorized government regulation for certain groundwater basins through the establishment of local agencies, with the goal of sustainable management  that is, no significant drop in groundwater tables year-to-year  by 2042. Three of Sonoma Countys 14 groundwater basins are subject to such oversight: Sonoma Valley, the Santa Rosa Plain and Petaluma Valley. The location of these basins corresponds to both high population density and major groundwater demands. There are three levels of county stakeholders most affected by groundwater management, said Ann DuBay, administrator for the Petaluma Valley and Sonoma Valley Groundwater Sustainability Agencies. First are homeowners  mostly rural homeowners  who are on well water. Next is agriculture, which is a lynchpin of our economy. And finally, theres the environment, including the streams and rivers that get at least some recharge from groundwater.  Andy Rodgers, administrator for the Santa Rosa Plain agency, likens a groundwater basin to a subterranean bathtub: the volume of water the tub holds fluctuates depending on season and demand. Shallower basin aquifers may be connected to surface water such as streams, while deeper aquifers typically are not connected to surface flows. Under the 2014 state law, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), local agencies are authorized for each medium to high priority basin, and a board and advisory committee are formed, said Rodgers. Once an agency is in place, the goal is the development of a groundwater plan thats sustainable long-term.  As an example, Rodgers cited the Santa Rosa Plain basin, which is now in a slight water budget deficit. Over time, said Rodgers, more water is extracted than replenished. We do have the authority to investigate, and if there are problems and clear lines of evidence, we do have the authority to take action, Andy Rodgers said. During the next 20 years our job is to remove that budget deficit, or even achieve a net positive, said Rodgers. Thats the whole point of SGMA.  The new drought is the first time California has had such regulation in place. And while the state law generally favors a soft approach that emphasizes groundwater quantification, monitoring and incentives for conservation, it isnt toothless. We do have the authority to investigate, and if there are problems and clear lines of evidence, we do have the authority to take action, said Rodgers. Investigating ways to recharge local basins  Two of the countys basins  the Santa Rosa Plain and the Petaluma Valley  are in relatively good shape, said DuBay. There has been recognition for some time that the Sonoma Valley has issues, specifically in deep aquifer declines, said DuBay. There are a couple of hot spots where this is particularly problematic  El Verano and the region around Eighth Street East come immediately to mind.  Groundwater management is not wholly about monitoring and regulation  its also about replenishment, and the county is investigating several avenues for recharging local basins, said Jay Jasperse, the chief engineer and groundwater manager for Sonoma Water, the county agency. You get some profound benefits from recharging shallower aquifers that feed streams, said Jasperse. You enhance water supplies, of course, but you also get significant environmental benefits by maintaining stream flows.  One approach to groundwater recharge is known by a wonky acronym: flood-MAR, short for Managed Aquifer Recharge. During high water river flows, water can be directed to nearby agricultural lands  vineyards along the Russian River are a good example. The standing water subsequently percolates down to underlying aquifers. Certain crops arent harmed by standing water, and research conducted in the Central Valley indicates (dormant) grapevines are in that category, said Jasperse. For deeper county aquifers, managers can direct Russian River winter flows through existing pipelines to established agricultural and municipal wells. We did a pilot study with a well in the Sonoma Valley, and it was successful, Jasperse said. Typically, theres a SGMA process for implementing new data into the sustainability plans, but the drought is accelerating our responses in general. Were looking to get one or more wells expedited for this approach in the near future.