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City advisory member briefs council on groundwater modeling, 10% reduction target under SGMA
Summary
An advisory-committee member reported modeling from the county’s supply-and-demand assessment showing a 10% reduction in pumping (especially within 1,500 feet of streams) meets the basin’s sustainability model goals; Saint Helena’s municipal wells pose different operational concerns but the city should aim to contribute to regional reductions, the presenter said.
Mister Hardy, who serves on the Groundwater Sustainability Plan advisory committee and is an elected city council member, briefed the council on county modeling and the implications of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).
Hardy summarized three recharge and demand scenarios under the county’s assessment and provided model figures: base-period pumping (2005–2014) averaged about 15,000 acre‑feet per year across the basin, while the more recent 2015–2024 period averaged about 17,700 acre‑feet per year. He explained that the plan’s sustainability goal includes a 10% reduction from the base period (target roughly 13,500 acre‑feet per year) and showed model runs indicating that a 10% reduction focused within 1,500 feet of significant streams would meet the plan threshold in each modeled year.
Hardy noted local variation in effects: "There's a difference between what happens at Pope Street and what happens at Oak Knoll," with reductions showing greater benefit in some locations than others. He also cautioned that Saint Helena’s municipal system differs from an irrigation well owner; during drought, the city’s reliance on wells can increase because other sources decline, which complicates achieving local pumping reductions. Hardy urged the city to consider targeted local reductions and continued engagement with GSA and technical staff.
The presentation included a note that the SGMA implementation timeline is long — a 20‑year horizon with five‑year progress reports — and that tougher decisions about voluntary versus mandatory measures are likely in the next several years as environmental flow analyses are completed. No council action was taken; members thanked Hardy and requested access to the full presentation materials.
