Sustainable Groundwater Management Act and Groundwater Sustainability Plan

Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA)

Since 2014, the San Benito County Water District (SBCWD) has been actively engaged in adaptation of its groundwater management into the framework provided by the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).

SGMA’s rigorous, required processes will build on SBCWD’s solid foundation of management practices, with additional information and analyses, review of basin conditions considering new sustainability criteria, update of basin modeling, and renewal of the planning process. SGMA also broadens the scope of groundwater management to relatively extensive basin areas, requiring expansion of data collection, monitoring, and management to a wider area. This criteria and actions form the foundation for developing a Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) for the North San Benito Groundwater Basin. For medium-priority basins such as these, GSPs must be completed by 2022 and demonstrate sustainability by 2042.

In addition to public workshops and outreach programs, the SBCWD formed a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), to assist in reviewing and contributing to the technical aspects of the GSP as its elements are produced. The TAC is made up of individuals selected to represent GSP-related subject areas, including but not limited to environmental, technical, and land use planning fields. This diverse group of experts in their respective fields will be responsible for reviewing the GSP scope of work, draft products, and materials prepared by consultants, analyzing them, and providing recommendations to the GSP Technical Team to develop a technically-sound GSP.

The final GSP will be completed in 2021 and in accordance with state regulations, will be presented for adoption by the respective Board of Directors of the SBCWD and Valley Water Groundwater Sustainability Agencies before January 31, 2022 and submitted to the California Department of Water Resource.