During the April 14 Board Meeting, the District Board voted to amend the District Regulatory Plan.
The adopted resolution allows for permittees that do not have alternative water available in Regulatory Area 2 to submit a groundwater reduction plan (GRP) for board consideration.
“The District’s mission is to prevent future subsidence and managing groundwater through the Regulatory Plan is how we achieve that goal,” General Manager Mike Turco said. “The District also considers what reasonable and sustainable conversion from groundwater to alternative water looks like. This amendment allows us to work alongside entities in Regulatory Area 2 that do not currently have access to alternative water and develop a strategy for the conversion process.”
The District’s Regulatory Plan is informed by extensive research and on-going monitoring, and sets the requirements for each Regulatory Area in the District. No more than 20% (10% in Regulatory Area 1) of total water demand can be sourced from groundwater to prevent future subsidence.
Under the new amendment, a permittee operating under a certified GRP must limit their groundwater withdrawals to the greatest extent practicable through the use of water conservation and other measures as specified in their GRP until an alternative water supply is available. For the full list of requirements set forth in the new amendment, view the Amended Regulatory Plan. To see a redlined version of the changes, view this draft.