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Supervisors back exploring a regional water-and-open-space forum to coordinate basin planning
Summary
After a regional conference, supervisors agreed to study re-establishing a water-resource advisory group with an added open-space focus to improve regional coordination, data-sharing and local input ahead of state actions on groundwater management.
Supervisor Nikki Cech described an initiative to re-create a county forum that would combine water-resource coordination and open-space objectives, following a recent regional conference. The proposal seeks to replace the informal, previously disbanded Water Advisory Committee with a new body that would include municipal partners, county staff and stakeholders to coordinate groundwater, conservation and open-space priorities.
Nut graf: Supervisors and staff said federal- and state-level activity on groundwater and drought increases the need for a county-level forum to assemble data, harmonize municipal plans and present a coordinated voice on water policy and preservation strategies.
What supervisors said
- Supervisor Nikki Cech, who raised the item after the Growing Water Smart conference, said the old advisory board ceased to be effective and that a retooled committee could generate practical tools and maps to inform municipal and county decisions. "If we don't come back to this table, it will be other people that start to make policy decisions about our ground water," she said.
- Several supervisors and staff said the new forum should be scoped to avoid repeating the previous committee's failures. They discussed using county GIS and sharing monitoring data to create clear public communication about basin conditions and demand patterns.
Why it matters
Speakers pointed to dry-season impacts already occurring in parts of the county, with water providers reporting steep summertime usage spikes. Supervisors underlined that local planning choices (landscaping, lot sizes, and new wells) interact with basin-level sustainability. Several supervisors backed a collaborative model with municipal participation and shared data tools rather than a solely county-led body.
Next steps
Staff will schedule a follow-up session to define scope, reach out to municipalities to solicit participation and develop a list of desired deliverables (for example, mapping, monitoring updates and educational materials). Supervisors emphasized outreach and broad stakeholder involvement.
Ending: outlook
Participants said a revitalized regional approach could help shape local decisions and support county residents and municipalities as state-level groundwater oversight evolves.
