The Sonoma Valley Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) is a public agency formed to sustainably manage groundwater in the Sonoma Valley groundwater basin. The agency was formed in June 2017 and has a Board of Directors, an administrator and an advisory committee.
Agendas & Meeting Calendar
Groundwater Sustainability Plan
Draft Section 3 of the GSP is no longer open for comment.
Take a look at our 20-year plan for groundwater sustainability
Find Your Basin
To determine your basin of residence, click here and type your address into the search bar at the top left of the page
Materiales en Español
Estamos trabajando para proporcionar tantos materiales en español como sea posible
Drought and Groundwater
Worried about your well during the current drought? Rainfall in the region to date is only 12.89 inches, compared to average rainfall of 34 inches. The unprecedented dry conditions affects groundwater resources in multiple ways:
- There is less recharge into the aquifer from rain, creeks, streams and other surface water;
- People use more water to irrigate drought-stressed landscapes, gardens, vines and crops; and
- Water catchment systems and on-farm reservoirs received minimal run-off, and may already be dry, resulting in greater reliance of groundwater for irrigation and drinking water for animals.
For all these reasons and more, rural landowners who rely on groundwater are understandably concerned about the impact that drought could have on wells.
For more information and resources about the drought, groundwater wells and groundwater monitoring and reporting visit our drought page.
Defining Sustainability for the Sonoma Valley Groundwater Basin
Join the June 23, 2021 virtual community meeting
Wednesday, June 23
5:30-7:30 p.m.
Please register in advance for the link to this webinar: https://scwa-ca-gov.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_AbqrwLEYQN2r4nIfBy7HiA
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
Meeting topics include:
· Overview of the basin and concerns
· The groundwater budget: How much water is coming into the basin and how much water is going out — now and into the future
· Defining sustainability locally
· Measuring sustainability
Defining Sustainability in the Sonoma Valley
The GSA Board and Advisory Committee are working hard to develop locally appropriate definitions of sustainable groundwater management for the six sustainability indicators, below, as required by SGMA.
Go the Groundwater Sustainability Plan pages for updates.
“Management and use of groundwater in a manner that can be maintained during the planning and implementation horizon without causing undesirable results.”
Lowering Groundwater Levels
Seawater Intrusion
Reduction of Storage
Land Subsidence
Degraded Groundwater Quality
Surface Water Depletion
