Sonoma Valley Groundwater Management Plan

The Center facilitated a 20-member collaborative guiding development and implementation of the Sonoma Valley Groundwater Management Plan. Prior to initiating the collaborative, CCP conducted an impartial assessment of issues related to water supply and groundwater management to learn if and how stakeholders might want to address these issues. Based on the results of these interviews, CCP recommended forming a Basin Advisory Panel to represent stakeholder interests and partner with the Sonoma County Water Agency to develop a groundwater management plan. The Panel recommended the plan, the first in the County developed using consensus, for adoption in 2007 and is now overseeing implementation of the adopted plan throughout the Sonoma Valley. The collaborative’s co-chairs now facilitate its work on implementation.

The issues center on the sustaining groundwater pumping, diversifying water supply, water quality, linking land use to water management, and gathering and managing data. A particular challenge is that groundwater rights are proprietary, and stakeholders are skeptical of government’s role in managing groundwater.

After the assessment, the Panel developed and approved the groundwater management plan after meeting together for 14 months. In 2008, the Panel begins to oversee implementation.

CCP has worked in tandem with the Sonoma County Water Agency and a member of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors to engage vital community leaders.

For more information, visit http://www.scwa.ca.gov/svgroundwater/

A brief video regarding the project is available below:

Other Featured CCP Projects

• Smith River National Recreation Area Travel Management Mediation
• California Complete Count - U.S. Census 2010
• Statewide Emergency Management Interoperability Collaborative
• South Bay Salt Ponds Project Award