The public review and comment process has opened on the full draft of the Colusa County Groundwater Sustainability Plan.
The Colusa Groundwater Authority is expected to submit the finished product to the California Department of Water Resources by Jan. 31, 2022.
The purpose of the plan is to maintain stable groundwater resources for all beneficial users through a cooperative and partnered approach that preserves and enhances the economic vitality of the community, among other things, officials said.
“Your input is very important to us,” said Mary Fahey, Water Resources manager, in a press release. “To ensure we have an accurate and consistent account of all comments, we have prepared a standardized comment submission approach.”
The Colusa Groundwater Authority and the Glenn Groundwater Authority have worked together for several years to develop a single Groundwater Sustainability Plan for the Colusa Subbasin, which is the fourth largest water basin in California. The plan is a tool that will be used to implement the historic Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, signed into law in 2014 by Gov. Jerry Brown, in response to climate change and ongoing drought that could leave California thirsty unless efforts are undertaken to halt overdraft and bring groundwater basins into balanced levels of pumping and recharge.
The Act authorized the establishment of the regulatory agencies that are tasked with monitoring and managing groundwater to ensure sustainable levels long into the future, officials said.
The 425-page document establishes a plan for sustaining groundwater through projects and management actions, including, but not limited to, well monitoring, water allocations, land repurposing, strategic land idling for drought, financial incentives to reduce consumptive groundwater use, and extraction fees that disincentivize groundwater use.
According to the plan, the measurable objectives are expected to benefit groundwater levels, groundwater storage, and depletion of interconnected surface water, although projects and actions are still currently in the early conceptual stage.
Chapters 1-6 were released earlier in the year. Chapter 7 outlines the annual costs to implement the Colusa Groundwater Authority and implement the Groundwater Sustainability Plan over the first five years. Chapter 8 is an appendix of references and technical studies.
Annual costs are expected to run as high as $975,000 in 2023, when plan studies are implemented, to a low of $625,000 in 2026. Officials said that actual costs incurred will be made available to the public in annual reports and financial statements.
To fund operational and implementation costs, the authority plans to develop a financing plan that includes grants and low-interest loans, groundwater extraction charges (a charge per acre-foot pumped), other fees and charges (new well permits, transaction fees, commodity-based fees), special assessments (per-acre or per-parcel), general property taxes that are not directly related to the benefits or costs of service (ad valorem or parcel tax), and special taxes imposed for specific purposes related to GSA activities.
According to the plan, the GSA is pursuing a combined approach for funding sources, so as not to significantly and negatively impact the local agriculture economy.
“All agencies are concerned that any fees, charges, or assessments will affect business (farm) income and, if large, may affect cropping decisions and farming practices in the subbasin,” the plan states. “Based on groundwater monitoring, land use changes, and other future conditions, the GSAs will reconsider or adjust fees/assessments as needed to complete required project and management actions that are required to achieve (groundwater) sustainability.”
The GSAs will have the authority to plan and implement management actions. Required permitting and regulatory review would be initiated through consultation with applicable governing agencies, including, but not limited to, the Department of Water Resources, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Flood Control Board, Regional Water Boards, LAFCO, and County of Colusa and/or Glenn.
At least every five years, DWR will review the progress that the GSAs have made toward meeting the sustainability goals of the plan and the progress they make toward implementation of the projects and management actions, officials said.
The draft Groundwater Sustainability Plan can be viewed on the Colusa Groundwater Authority’s website at colusagroundwater.org.
Comments must be submitted to Mary Fahey, program manager, at mfahey@countyofcolusa.com no later than 11:59 p.m. Oct. 31. ■