Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the GSP Periodic Evaluation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
GSA technical team outlines schedule for 2027 periodic evaluation and reports early field findings for interconnected-surface-water study
Summary
Larry Walker Associates and the technical team briefed the board on the GSP periodic-evaluation schedule (final due Jan. 28, 2027) and reported initial field reconnaissance, five prioritized study sites and early biological and tracer sampling for the interconnected surface-water/groundwater-dependent-ecosystem (ISW/GDE) study.
Representatives from Larry Walker Associates briefed the Yukaya Valley Basin GSA on the scope and schedule for the groundwater sustainability plan (GSP) periodic evaluation due in late January 2027, emphasizing that the periodic evaluation is intended to be narrower than a full plan amendment. The technical team identified three TAC-prioritized high items: monitoring-network expansion, an interconnected-surface-water (ISW) study and a well inventory.
"This is going to be more comprehensive than what the GSA already does for annual reports," the Larry Walker presenter said, describing the evaluation as a summary of new data, progress on corrective actions that DWR identified, and updates to representative monitoring points. The schedule calls for a draft joint TAC/board presentation in July, TAC review in October, a board review in November and submission to the Department of Water Resources ahead of the Jan. 28, 2027 deadline.
Audra, part of the technical team, provided an update on the ISW/GDE study: field reconnaissance took place in March; the team secured five signed access agreements (a mix of GSA/city-owned and private properties) and conducted initial herpetology surveys, environmental tracer sampling and sensor planning. Priority tributaries ranked highly in the rubric include Acriman Creek, Robinson Creek, Foresight Creek and Morrison Creek, plus several West Fork/main-stem locations. The team plans fish surveys, possible shallow monitoring-well installations (pending landowner permission), repairs to an existing stream gauge on Foresight Creek and continued outreach to secure one additional site.
Board members asked clarifying questions about how the prioritization accounted for hydrological "management" (infrastructure or nearby pumping) and whether dams or spreading basins were treated as management influences; the technical team confirmed these factors were considered in the multifactored rubric.
