Yolo Subbasin Groundwater Agency
The Yolo Subbasin Groundwater Agency (YSGA) was created in accordance with the California Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) of 2014. SGMA required that a local governance body be established to develop and implement a Groundwater Sustainability Plan. The YSGA is comprised of 26 members who represent urban, agricultural, and environmental interests, including the District. In fact, the District’s General Manager, Kristin Sicke, currently serves as the YSGA’s Executive Director, and she works to ensure that the YSGA fulfills its mission to administrate and coordinate the implementation of the Groundwater Sustainability Plan.
Westside Sacramento Integrated Regional Water Management Plan
Water issues are naturally complex, as they involve water supply, quality, flood risk reduction, and habitat protection, among other issues. Adding to the complexity is that water issues are often regional, rather than confined to any one city or county. Due to these factors, the State of California required that hydrologically connected areas coordinate to develop a common water management vision for their area and identify specific actions to realize their water management objectives, with the overarching goal of achieving regional water sustainability. The District, as a member of the Water Resources Association of Yolo County, participated in the planning and development of the Westside Sacramento Integrated Water Management Plan (IRWMP), along with the Lake County Watershed Protection District, Napa County Flood Control & Water Conservation District, Colusa County Resource Conservation District, and Solano County Water Agency.
The IRWMP encompasses the area west of the coastal mountain range and is bordered by the Sacramento River and Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to the east and south. It includes all of Yolo County, and portions of Lake, Napa, Solano and Colusa Counties which are part of the Cache Creek and Putah Creek watersheds. The Plan articulates water management objectives, identifies projects to support those objectives, and defines a framework for future coordination and Plan implementation. Currently the IRWMP is in the implementation and progress tracking phase. The successful completion of the Plan allows agencies to apply for grants to fund projects that support regional water management objectives.
Active District projects that have received funding from the State’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act are the Winter Groundwater Recharge Program, which helps to more effectively restore groundwater levels, and the West Adams Canal Renovation and China Sough Rehabilitation Project which seeks to improve water delivery infrastructure on some of the District canals to improve efficiency and evaluate the feasibility of water delivery to the Yolo-Zamora area. Other potential District projects that require a funding source include the development and construction of regulating ponds to provide a buffer for water delivery capacity and enhance groundwater recharge, and several flood prevention projects.