FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ross Branch, Public Affairs Manager, Placer County Water Agency  (530) 823-1937 (office), (530) 863-3130 (cell), rbranch@pcwa.net

AUBURN, Calif. (May 5, 2017) — At the May 4 meeting of the Placer County Water Agency (PCWA), the Board of Directors approved an agreement to join neighboring entities in creation of the West Placer Groundwater Sustainability Agency (WPGSA). Once formed, the WPGSA will manage local groundwater conditions as required by the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 (SGMA).

SGMA directs “sustainable groundwater management” for groundwater basins designated as medium- and high-priority by the California Department of Water Resources. The WPGSA will manage a portion of the North American Sub-basin, which has been designated as a high-priority basin.

Other public entities considering participation in the WPGSA include the Cities of Lincoln and Roseville, the Nevada Irrigation District, and Placer County. The Memorandum of Agreement, approved by the Board, initially appoints Placer County as WPGSA’s Administrator, managing activities and contracts, consistent with the budget approved by all parties. California American Water Company will participate in the organization’s activities subject to a separate Participation Agreement and contribute to the budget, but will not be a member of the WPGSA.

Formation of the WPGSA will ensure local control of the water resources, as opposed to the state, and set up the appropriate framework for long-term sustainable groundwater management. Under SGMA, Groundwater Sustainability Agencies must be formed by June 30, 2017. Development and implementation of a Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) is required by the year 2022.

More information about the WPGSA and SGMA is available at www.westplacergroundwater.com.

BY: Einar Maisch

General Manager, PCWA

Last week, the Assembly Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee in Sacramento held a hearing on several bills that represented two different visions for future water use in California. One vision, embodied in AB 968 (Rubio) and supported by Placer County Water Agency, would establish new long-term water use efficiency targets for water agencies, and their customers, taking into account local conditions, established water rights, and past investments. The other vision, proposed by the Brown Administration and reflected in accompanying legislation, would transfer unchecked authority to the unelected State Water Resources Control Board to set permanent conservation standards, and ratchet them down over time, regardless of local conditions. It is the typical “one-size fits all” approach we are accustomed to from Sacramento.

For me, the most telling moment of the hearing came from testimony in opposition to the locally-developed approach, and in favor of the Administration’s proposal. The witness, representing the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), claimed the state needed to engage in more central-planning to prevent the water conservation “backsliding” that has occurred since the end of the drought. 2014 and 2015 were two very dry years, marked by mandated conservation during which residents and businesses reduced water use by over 30 percent in many areas of the state. People took extraordinary actions, let their landscapes die, reduced flushing, and generally did whatever they could to help stretch limited water supplies.

Then over the last two years, with reservoirs refilling in 2016, and the region experiencing the most rain on record in 2017, urban water use has slowly evolved to a new normal. People have learned they can live just fine using less water and everyone is finding their own way forward. Some are replacing their landscapes with more drought tolerant materials, while others are restoring their landscapes with improved irrigation technology. Overall, PCWA customers are still using roughly 20 percent less water compared to pre-drought levels. That is responsible use of water, not “backsliding.”

For the NRDC, however, no one should be allowed to increase their water use beyond what they were able to get by on when supplies were critical. They would have all of us live every year as if  it were a critical drought, regardless of the level of investments the community has made to ensure a reliable water supply.

Instead of envisioning a future that looks a lot like the bleak days of 2014 and 2015, PCWA supports a vision of the future marked by prudent stewardship of the natural amenities we enjoy in Placer County. For this central valley boy, a shade tree and a spot of cool grass on a summer day (with no runoff down the gutter) is not a crime.

Water policy legislation crafted and set for an April 25 Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee hearing

On Friday, April 14, MCWRA hand carried and delivered a letter to each Senator and Assembly Member’s office in strong opposition to permanent water conservation regulations and specific to the Budget Trailer Bill.  Click for letters:

On April 21, 2017 the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA), issued a member “Outreach Alert” calling for action and providing template letters.  Using the ACWA template letters, MCWRA drafted letters in opposition to the three Assembly bills.

MCWRA hand carried and delivered the following letters on April 22 in advance of the April 25 hearing:

April 14 2017 Letter to Assembly Members and Senators  (included with AB 1668 and AB 1669)

Click below for bill language and MCWRA OPPOSE letters

AB 1667 (Agricultural Water Management)

MCWRA Letter:  AB 1667 Agricultural Water Management – Oppose

AB 1668 (Urban Water Management Planning)

MCWRA Letter:  AB 1668 – Oppose

AB 1669 (Urban Water-Use Efficiency Standards and Use Reporting)

MCWRA Letter:    AB 1669 – Oppose

 In Futher Action:

MCWRA also joined in with a large coalition to support, in concept, AB 968 and 1654.

Application walk-through and quantification example webinar

April 14, 2017

Click for more informaton

The California Water Commission announced that Joe Yun has agreed to serve as Executive Officer.

Joe has over 28 years of experience working in water resource planning and management for the Department of Water Resources and in private consulting, where he gained valuable experience with water policy and implementing water management grant programs in California.

In a congratulatory letter, John Kingsbury, Executive Director of MCWRA, also took the opportunity to encourage Proposition 1 funding for regional projects including,  Alder Reservoir, Blagen Mill Pond Restoration Project, Centennial Reservoir, Herring Creek Reservoir Expansion, Sierra Pines Reservoir, Sugar Pine Dam Raise, Tuolumne County Water Supply Reliability Project, Upper Strawberry Reservoir, and Wilson Lake Rehabilitation and Meadow Restoration Plan.

“These additional surface water storage projects will help reduce ground water extraction and subsidence in the Delta by using surface water during wet years and the ground water basin during dry years.  Additional storage in this region will provide a buffer for new urban and municipal uses, drought preparedness, downstream flood protection, and provide additional cold water for endangered fish.  The water released from these reservoirs will help balance the wind and solar electricity grid by generating carbon-free renewable hydropower energy. Please also keep in mind that there is no better opportunity to develop clean renewable hydropower energy than in the Mountain Counties Area.”…

Letter to Joe Yun – Executive Officer

A message from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy:

As noted in the release of the draft Proposition 1 Grant Guidelines for FY 2017-2018 and FY 2018-19 the public workshops are scheduled.

• The first of these workshops is at the Shasta County Board of Supervisors Training Room in Redding on April 10, 2017, from 1:00-3:00 p.m.
• The second workshop is at the Tulare County Board of Supervisors Conference Rooms A & B in Visalia on April 13, 2017, from 1:00-3:00 p.m.
• The final public workshop is scheduled at the SNC Headquarters in Auburn on April 14, 2017, from 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. In addition to in-person participation, the Auburn workshop will be webcast. Pre-registration will be required to participate in the live webcast.

To reserve a seat at any of the Workshops, please RSVP. The draft Grant Guidelines are available for review here, visit the website for more information: www.sierranevada.ca.gov.

“We can’t thank you enough for the workshops you organized for us last year.  We were so inspired and motivated to learn more, we’ve signed up to make this trip happen again for spring break of 2017, except we will be leading a new group of students”, said ABS lead Cindy Nguyen.

 Assembly Member Brian Dahle

Assembly Member Kevin Kiley

Debbie Franco Harris, Community and Rural Affairs Advisor, Governors’s Office of Planning and Research

Joel Metzer, Customer/Community Relations Manager (left) & Dave Eggerton, General Manager, Calaveras County Water District

TOUR – California Water up the American River 

The next day, MCWRA provided a day-long tour for the students up the American River watershed with its partners and sponsors. The students learned the history of and historical uses of Sierra Nevada water to present day uses, as well as, the many complexities, challenges, and opportunities of California water.

Nimbus Fish Hatchery

While at the Nimbus Fish Hatchery, Tom Gohring, Executive Director, Sacramento Water Forum, discussed the importance of a stakeholder partnership and how the region deals with key challenges and opportunities such as groundwater management, water diversions, dry year water supplies, water conservation, and protection of the lower American River in the Water Forum’s comprehensive Water Forum Agreement – October 2015 Update .

Folsom Lake

Placer County Water Agency

Confluence – North and Middle Fork American Rivers

Marie Davis, Geologist and consultant to Placer County Water Agency, and Abigail Madrone, Business Development Director, West Yost Associates, discuss the multidimensional management decisions of watershed and groundwater resources.

PCWA Foothill Water Treatment Plant

Click for More Pictures from the Gallery

Tour Made possible by:

 

The Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) is seeking public input on updated grant guidelines for the Conservancy’s Proposition 1 grant program. The SNC grant program is funded by Proposition 1, the Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014, which was passed by voters in November 2014.

The SNC is proposing that the second grant round will continue to focus on forest health projects, including projects to reduce the risk of large, damaging wildfires. These types of projects are specifically called out in Proposition 1 and the California Water Action Plan, in recognition of the critical role watersheds play in California’s water future.

A series of three public workshops will be held in early April 2017 to gather public comment and familiarize potential grantees with the application process. Dates and locations of these workshops to be announced soon.

To access the draft Grant Guidelines on the SNC website, please click here. Interested parties can submit comments via email to grants.SNC@sierranevada.ca.gov or by mail to Sierra Nevada Conservancy, Attn: Grants Administration, 11521 Blocker Drive, Suite 205, Auburn, CA 95603.

Public comments will be accepted through Friday, April 14, 2017.

Mountain Counties Water Resources Association comments on the 2016 Bay-Delta Plan Amendment & Substitute Environmental Document (SED)

Click link for letter to the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB): Water Quality Control Plan – Unimpaired Flows 2017

Draining the Sierra Nevada Headwaters

By John Kingsbury, Executive Director, Mountain Counties Water Resources Association

Published Mar 15, 2017 at 03:28PM