Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Fox Canyon GMA, regional partners close out $15.2M SGMA grant after completing recharge and monitoring projects
Loading...
Summary
Agency staff reported completion and state closeout of a 2022 Department of Water Resources grant that funded monitoring wells, conveyance upgrades and recycled-water interconnections across the Oxnard Subbasin and Pleasant Valley Basin. The board received the report with no formal action.
Fox Canyon Groundwater Management Agency staff told the board on July 23 that projects funded by a 2022 Department of Water Resources (DWR) Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) grant are complete and the state has issued final closeout letters.
Ryan Wood, agency staff, said the grant funded 10 projects across two basins with a total award of $15,200,000. "This grant funded 5 projects in Oxnard Subbasin with a total amount of $7,600,000," Wood said, and an equal amount funded five projects in the Pleasant Valley Basin. He described completed work including nested monitoring wells, recycled-water interconnections and conveyance upgrades.
The report said Fox Canyon drilled four nested, multi-depth monitoring wells and four shallow wells at eight locations, with the grant covering most costs and county staff support helping reduce expenses. United Water Conservation District completed an inverted-siphon replacement to increase conveyance capacity, 21 monitoring wells and a Laguna Road recycled-water interconnection; Pleasant Valley County Water District completed two recycled-water connection projects and a private-reserve modifications program; and a feasibility study on stormwater diversion to a water-reclamation plant was completed by the city identified in the staff report.
Mariam Broll, assistant general manager at United Water Conservation District, thanked the agency and state grant program. "These projects significantly contribute to and strengthen the long term sustainability of the Oxnard Sub Basin," Broll said, noting interagency collaboration among United, Ventura County, Pleasant Valley County Water District, the City of Oxnard and Fox Canyon GMA staff.
Board members praised the closeout and the agency's performance rating. Chair West and other directors noted the state gave an overall grantee performance rating of "A," and several directors recognized the last-minute fund transfers and multiple special meetings needed to complete projects on time.
The board treated the item as a receive-and-file update; no substantive policy action or vote on the projects was required at the meeting.
Looking ahead, staff and board members said they expect continued interagency collaboration for future projects supporting groundwater sustainability and recharge.
