Merced Supervisor Urges State to Let Delta Mendota Implement Groundwater Plan

Scott Silvera, Merced County supervisor for District 5, told the State Water Resources Control Board during public comment that the Delta Mendota Subbasin should be allowed to implement its locally developed groundwater sustainability plan (GSP) rather than be subject to state takeover. Silvera said the plan balances the needs of disadvantaged residents, agriculture and the environment and warned that state intervention should remain a last-resort backstop.

Silvera noted that Merced County has a poverty rate of 21.5%, “more than double the state average,” and argued affordable, reliable water is essential for his constituents and local farms. He told the board that 23 separate groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs) in the Delta Mendota Subbasin worked together to produce a single GSP and that 22 of those GSAs have adopted the plan, with the final agency scheduled to adopt soon. “That’s 23 GSAs,” he said.

Recalling the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), which was enacted in 2014, Silvera said the law assigns local agencies the primary role in sustainable groundwater management and designates the State Water Resources Control Board as a backstop if basins fail to meet sustainability goals. He argued the Delta Mendota Subbasin has not failed and that its locally designed plan should be allowed to proceed. “We are well informed, we're working with experts and your staff, and we'll continue to do so, which means that the Delta Mendota Sub Basin can be trusted to implement our GSP,” Silvera said.

Silvera described investments already made to support sustainable groundwater—groundwater recharge projects, surface water storage projects, water-use efficiency efforts and stormwater capture—and said those efforts support plan implementation. He criticized a prior finding that labeled the plan "deficient," calling that determination "without merit nor based on actual performance," and asked the board to permit full implementation without causing specific, identifiable harm to the public, environment or the basin.

Silvera framed local control as a central promise of SGMA and warned that state intervention was intended only as a backstop. He said Merced’s disadvantaged communities and agriculture depend on a locally managed solution and urged the board to respect the collaborative work of the GSAs. He closed by quoting Thomas Jefferson: "Whenever the people are well informed, they can be trusted with their own government." An unidentified board member thanked Silvera for his leadership and said the board expects further discussion of SGMA matters.

The board did not take a formal action during the exchange; Silvera’s remarks were heard as public comment and further SGMA discussions were anticipated by board staff.