CHINO BASIN WATERMASTER

Presentation toCalifornia Contract Cities Association

November 8, 2014

OutlineGroundwater basin managementSustainable Groundwater Management Act

(SGMA) provisionsWho is affected?What can Cities do?

Groundwater Basin Management

Considerations in Managing a Groundwater BasinLand Use; overall water demandWater rightsEnvironmental Considerations (water quality,

surface water interaction with groundwater, other)

Land SubsidenceStorm water capture and availability of

supplemental waterOther depending on local conditions

A brief history of Chino Basin (and many others?)

Land use has changed over time

Consider the changes from the perspective of water supply and demand

1978 JudgmentEstablished the Safe Yield of the BasinAllocated rights according to priority

Overlying land ownersAppropriators

Provided for orderly transfer of agricultural rights to appropriators

Created a Watermaster

2000 Optimum Basin Management ProgramCreated in the late 1990’s as a result of

growing dissatisfaction with results of basin management

Identified essential goals for management of the Basin:Enhancement of water suppliesProtection/enhancement of water qualityProtection against further land subsidenceEquitable financing

What is a groundwater basin adjudication?

How does a groundwater basin get managed without

an adjudication?

SGMA ProvisionsAdjudicated BasinsNon-adjudicated basins

SGMA ProvisionsAdjudicated Basins…Are required to submit the Court Order to the

State and annually provide information such as groundwater pumping, water levels, and change in storage.

SGMA ProvisionsNon-adjudicated basins…Are required to form a Groundwater

Sustainability Agency with authority to require registration of wells; measure and manage pumping; require reporting and assess fees;

The GSA must prepare a Groundwater Sustainability Plan, which includes maps and information about the basin; objectives with a timeline, monitoring, and relationship to other local government plans

SGMA ProvisionsNon-adjudicated basins…GSA must be formed within next 2-3 yearsGSA must adopt GSP by 2020GSP must achieve sustainability by ~2040Or else…

Who is affected

What Can Cities Do?The SGMA is addressing one part of a bigger

picture.What’s the big picture?

Borrowed from: Cooperative Institute For Meteorological Satellite Studies

In case the SGMA applies to your region, be sure to engage in the Groundwater Sustainability Agency and help with the Sustainability Plan; and

Help manage demand within your boundaries

How Can Cities Influence Demand?Can land development include Water Use

Efficiency requirements?Can land development enhance MS4

requirements and increase stormwater capture?

Are water conservation ordinances realistic, enforceable, and coordinated with neighboring Cities?

Thank You