Napa County’s Groundwater Sustainability Plan, by Chris Sauer

January 25, 2021

Watershed #1Several years ago the State of California realized that available water was becoming a precious resource and that the State, along with much of the rest of the planet, could face a future where water shortages could become critical problem. As a course of prevention a law was created, the State Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) that requires all high and medium water basins throughout California (of which the Napa Valley Sub-basin is one) to draft a 20 year Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP). The plan is intended to ensure water availability for all necessary users and uses and is to include water sustainability for these following needs:

  • agriculture

  • business (wineries, manufacturing)

  • residential and public (drinking, sanitation needs)

  • environmental (native wildlife and plant communities)

The County of Napa has created a 25 member GSP committee selected from specific Napa County applicants who are designated as representatives of a cross section of critical Valley water users. The GSP is working hand-in-hand with members of the County and with a professional facilitation group to create a fair and equitable plan! It is hoped that the plan will create a path to follow that will ensure 20 years of water availability for any and all necessary users of Napa Valley groundwater.

There are a lineup of serious, some-what unpredictable challenges facing the creators of a GSP plan while looking 20 years into the future, such as:Watershed #2

  • Climate change

  • Over groundwater pumping/extraction

  • Significant salt water intrusion (south end of Valley)

  • Loss of surface waters

  • Land subsidence

  • Water quality issues (chemical and/or bacterial)

A number of issues are yet to be mapped out, such as how to define and measure sustainability, how to accomplish sustainability and exactly how to implement the GSP once it is completed. The deadline for completion of the GSP is November of 2021.

Please go to the Groundwater Agency's website for more information and a chance to add your comment on the various proposals.

Chris Sauer is Vice-Chair of the Napa Sierra Club Executive Committee, as well as a member of the Napa GSP committee.

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