Local Agencies Awarded $5.8 Million to Support Local Groundwater Sustainability Planning
Author: Public Works
Date: 4/19/2018 3:23 PM
On April 4, 2018, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) awarded $5.8 million to local Groundwater Sustainability Agencies to help offset the costs to develop Groundwater Sustainability Plans (Plans) in five local groundwater basins, a key requirement of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).
The Plans will study groundwater conditions, establish criteria for sustainable management, and prioritize actions needed to achieve sustainability within 20 years. Depending on the basin, Plans must be adopted by January 31, 2020 or 2022. DWR awarded these grants under the Proposition 1 Sustainable Groundwater Planning Grant Program, which is intended to help communities develop and implement groundwater sustainability plans and projects.
County Board of Supervisors Chairperson John Peschong commented, “securing these grants demonstrates the County of San Luis Obispo and our partner agencies who applied for the funding are on the right path towards SGMA compliance. I appreciate that the State recognized our local commitment to compliance and sustainable groundwater management and made a significant contribution to the funding of our local SGMA compliance efforts.”
Because of the County's role as a partner with other local agencies in each of the five basins, the grant funding will help to offset County costs associated with Plan development by approximately $2 million cumulatively (of the total $5.8 million) over the next four years.
For more information on groundwater management activities in the six local basins subject to SGMA, visit: www.slocountywater.org/sgma/
