Borrego Valley Groundwater Sustainability Plan

About the Program

Category: Community and Economic Development (Best in Category)

Year: 2020

The Borrego Valley Groundwater Sustainability Plan was the first complete draft sustainability plan created in California and is poised to be the first used to comprehensively determine groundwater rights. The County of San Diego developed the sustainability plan with the Borrego Water District (District) to ensure groundwater resources can be sustainably managed, to promote intergovernmental cooperation in addressing groundwater overdraft, and to comply with California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). The County provided the technical expertise and resources to lead the effort to prepare the sustainability plan and established an advisory committee to obtain broad stakeholder support. While regulators envisioned Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) would adopt and implement sustainability plans, the County and District recognized the potential benefits of a stipulated agreement as a SGMA alternative. Given the benefits and likelihood that water rights would be adjudicated because of groundwater reductions needed to meet state mandates, the County encouraged groundwater pumpers to agree to terms in a stipulated agreement as a creative solution. The sustainability plan was finalized in August 2019 and will be used to satisfy the sustainability objectives of SGMA in a water-rights-holders stipulated agreement filed with the court January 31, 2020.