Hungry Hollow resident asks Yolo supervisors for well-permit moratorium amid groundwater concerns

During public comment May 20, Yolo County resident and farmer Annie Main told the Board of Supervisors she believed recent well permits were approved without sufficient local hydrogeologic data and asked the board to impose a moratorium on new wells in focus areas until water budgets and sustainable yields are established.

Main said she has farmed in the Hungry Hollow area for more than 40 years and described decisions she said favored a recently established large olive grower in the county. She told supervisors that, following a denial of her earlier appeal, the same company received approval for four new wells “approximately 1 mile from our property,” which she said, along with a replacement well, has left about 20 landowners “experiencing groundwater decline.”

Main criticized the hydrogeologic analyses used for the approvals, saying no monitoring wells were sited in her immediate area and that county review relied on hypothetical rather than site-specific data. She said one nearby well was operating near pump-intake levels and asked the board to impose a moratorium on new wells on historic non‑irrigated land in focus areas including Hungry Hollow, West Aucklanders, the Plainfield Reach and Zamora until the county completes water budgets and sustainable-yield studies for those areas.

The board did not take immediate action during public comment. Main’s remarks were entered into the record for staff and the supervisors to review.