Merced County leaders talk about groundwater ordinance

Exactly how Merced County would implement a proposed groundwater ordinance drew concern from agriculture advocates Monday, when the Board of Supervisors got its first look at a mandate that would regulate well-drilling and out-of-county water sales.

Merced County’s water committee met with groups throughout the county, including the Farm Bureau, water districts and other stakeholders, to get feedback on the proposed ordinance.

Several representatives from those groups voiced support for the supervisors during a meeting Monday, but said county leaders would need to use caution before implementing new rules.

The new ordinance would put in place a permit system that would require anyone wanting to add or make changes to a well to answer several questions about the well and its water use before being approved.

The permit system would likely evaluate the availability of surface water, the well’s depth and if the applicant intends to change crops, resulting in an increased need for water, as well as other questions.

As it stands now, the county regulates only how the well is drilled and not whether it will change how much water comes out of the ground, said Merced County Executive Officer Jim Brown.

“We currently don’t ask or require information regarding groundwater capacity or the impacts of a well,” he said. “We only ask questions to ensure that the well is constructed properly and safely.”

County staff is looking at having Public Health’s Environmental Health Division monitor the drilling of wells and the Community and Economic Development’s Planning Division watch over out-of-county water sales.

The permitting is an attempt to mitigate the sinking of land across the county. So much groundwater is being pumped from the San Joaquin Valley that it’s causing a massive swath of Merced County’s surface to sink at an alarming rate, U.S. Geological Survey researchers revealed last year.

Researchers warn that the area that’s sinking is gradually spreading across 1,200 square miles, from the cities of Merced in the north, to Los Banos in the west, Madera in the east and Mendota in the south.

Drilling wells that pierce the Corcoran clay – a layer of ancient clay throughout the Valley – are particularly damaging to the shrinking capacity of underground water storage, according to Sarge Green, a water management specialist with the California Water Institute at California State University, Fresno. Green is also helping the county draw up its proposed ordinance.

Under new state regulations related to water, the county would also be responsible for monitoring the roughly 698,000 acres in the county not within a water district. Those areas have little historical data on record, according to county staff.

County officials were also spurred to take a critical look at establishing an ordinance after two private landowners in May proposed a $46 million groundwater sale to two water districts in Stanislaus County. With few exceptions, the proposed ordinance would not permit selling or moving water out of the area.

Supervisor Hub Walsh said managing the water pumped out of the ground goes a long way to maintain sustainable water resources in the region. “Our groundwater basins – five of them – are really used as savings accounts,” he said. “When we have plenty of surface water, we draw less on our groundwater.”

Walsh said the permit process is still a work in progress and would need more time to be hammered out.

Chris White, general manager of Central California Irrigation District in Los Banos, was at the meeting Monday. He said he hoped that the supervisors would continue to proceed in a measured way. “It’s one thing to have the ordinance in writing,” he said. “It’s another thing (as to) how it gets implemented.”

The Merced County Farm Bureau has not taken a stance on the ordinance but has been engaged in discussion, said Executive Director Amanda Carvajal, who was also at the meeting. She echoed the thoughts of White.

“Implementation,” she said. “That is going to be a big hurdle.”

This story was originally published October 21, 2014 at 8:38 PM with the headline "Merced County leaders talk about groundwater ordinance."