Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Water Groundwater topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Calaveras officials weigh splitting from multi-county groundwater agency to better manage local aquifer
Summary
Calaveras County officials heard a detailed SGMA briefing Oct. 28 and directed staff to work with the Calaveras County Water District to evaluate forming a standalone Calaveras Groundwater Sustainability Agency to address governance, cost-sharing and local monitoring ahead of the 2040 sustainability deadline.
Calaveras County supervisors on Oct. 28 heard a presentation from the Calaveras County Water District (CCWD) about the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act and a proposal to form a Calaveras-only Groundwater Sustainability Agency.
Andrew Wrenshaw, CCWD water resources manager, told the board the Eastern San Joaquin groundwater basin that overlaps Calaveras County is designated critically overdrafted and that local governance under the current multi-county Eastside GSA has presented coordination and cost-sharing challenges. "We can be more nimble with our own GSA," Wrenshaw said, describing potential benefits such as reduced overhead, clearer communication and locally focused monitoring and projects.
Wrenshaw said CCWD currently pays about 25% of a Groundwater Authority fee tied to projected pumping and that the county’s portion of irrigated acreage and pumping is far smaller than neighboring Stanislaus County’s. He described three near-term tasks: update a groundwater assessment with consultant Woodard & Curran to better quantify pumping and wells, identify monitoring sites (including two USGS-installed wells the county has access to) and evaluate the feasibility of in‑county projects to increase recharge or pursue nature-based approaches.
Board members asked for more detail on projected acre-feet allocations, financial impacts and how a split would affect obligations assigned by the Eastern San Joaquin Groundwater Authority. Wrenshaw said the total mitigation burden that the authority is dividing among GSAs would be apportioned on a new basis if the GSA boundary changed; CCWD will refine numbers through the updated assessment.
Supervisors emphasized coordination. "Any contact with Stanislaus County going forward needs to include board representatives," one supervisor said, asking that staff-to-staff outreach be elevated so supervisors are kept informed. CCWD board member Gary Mendy said CCWD and the county are prepared to continue the conversations.
No formal vote to create a new GSA was taken. The board agreed to let staff work with CCWD and return with scenarios and the technical and financial data needed for a decision.
What happens next: CCWD and county staff will provide a refined groundwater assessment, present governance options and report back to the board to support any future filing or plan edits required under SGMA.
