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Home My WebLink About7-Public Hearing - Martis Valley Groundwater Management PlanAgenda Item # 7 f Public Utility District PUBLIC HEARING To: Board of Directors From: Steven Poncelet Date: February 20, 2013 Subject: Public Hearing - Martis Valley Groundwater Management Plan 1. WHY THIS MATTER IS BEFORE THE BOARD The Board directed staff to schedule a public hearing for February 20, 2013 to receive oral and written comments on the final Martis Valley Groundwater Management Plan (GMP). 2. HISTORY The Truckee Donner Public Utility District (TDPUD), Northstar Community Services District (NCSD) and Placer County Water Agency (PCWA) are the three primary public water agencies that depend on the Martis Valley Basin for their water supply. Together, the TDPUD, NCSD and PCWA (Partnership Agencies) have partnered to update a groundwater management plan and help develop a groundwater model for the Martis Valley basin. The Martis Valley Groundwater Management Plan (GMP) is being updated to reflect current water resources planning in the region and to incorporate the latest information and understandings of the underlying groundwater basin. This collaborative effort will provide the guidance necessary to align groundwater policy. In addition to updating the groundwater management plan, a computer model of the groundwater basin will be developed, which will incorporate available data and enhance understanding of the groundwater basin. The Partnership Agencies selected Brown and Caldwell of Sacramento and their subcontractor, Balance Hydrologics of Truckee, to prepare the groundwater management plan, conduct public outreach and assist in management of the groundwater model. Development of the plan started in April of 2011 with a Public Hearing during the April 6, 2011 regular District Board meeting regarding the District's intent to update the Martis Valley GMP. The project was estimated to take about 2 years to complete. This collaborative effort was also able to leverage federal funding from the Bureau of Reclamation (—$750K total) to develop sophisticated groundwater modeling capabilities from the Desert Research Institute (DRI) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). A climate change modeling component will be part of the final groundwater model. Local agency contributions to the overall project are $150,000 for Truckee Donner PUD, $60,000 for Northstar CSD and $40,000 for PCWA. The Martis Valley Groundwater Management Plan (GMP) is being developed to provide a multi -agency framework that will work to ensure long-term quality and availability of groundwater in the Martis Valley basin. The GMP will follow the California Water Code (CWC) Sections 107450 et seq. by using plan components to support groundwater management objectives which in turn meet a basin -wide groundwater management goal. The GMP will contain the required components from Senate Bill 1938, the voluntary components from Assembly Bill 3030, and will contain suggested components from the Department of Water Resources (DWR) Bulletin 118-2003. It is important to also understand what a GMP is NOT. The GMP is not: mandatory; confidential information; regulations; enforcement of regulations; land use planning; nor zoning ordinances. The GMP is under development with the support of a Stakeholder Working Group (SWG). The SWG performs an advisory role in GMP progress, and is comprised of individuals with extensive knowledge of local groundwater issues, conditions, objectives, and needs. The working group is an invited group made up of Martis Valley stakeholders, including representatives from local water users, environmental groups, and government. The SWG has concluded the five planned meetings during the development of the GMP. Public outreach is also an important part of the Martis Valley GMP. During development of the GMP, public notices, newsletters, and website updates were released to the public and two public meetings were held. The Model will be used as a predictive tool during GMP implementation and will serve as a state-of-the-art tool to assess potential future groundwater conditions. As such, the Model may be used to: estimate the effects of large scale groundwater trends; estimate the location and magnitude of key groundwater recharge areas; and estimate implications of potential climate change on Martis Valley's water resources. The Martis Valley Modeling effort is planned to be comprehensive with aspects of the hydrologic cycle, including: precipitation runoff, surface water flows, and groundwater. The extent of the model domain will include the entire Martis Valley Groundwater Basin (Basin), as defined by the California Department of Water Resources Bulletin 118, and will include major aquifer units and surface water bodies within the Basin. The boundaries of the model will be the Martis Valley watershed. Upon completion of the Model calibration process to observed groundwater and surface water conditions, the tool will then be used to simulate the impacts of various future climate change estimates upon groundwater conditions within the Basin. A GMP consists of three majors parts; a physical setting, GMP goals, and implementation components. The physical setting includes surface waters in the basin, changes in topography, and current water use within the basin. It also includes a description of the geology and hydrogeology of the basin. An understanding of the Basin's physical conditions provides a solid base to develop the rest of the GMP from. GMP goals can include far-reaching goals, like ensuring the long term quality and availability of groundwater, and localized goals, such as identifying and protecting groundwater recharge areas or maintaining supplies for existing uses. A GMP manages groundwater through the implementation of plan components. Every California Water Code compliant GMP includes implementation components related to: groundwater monitoring; groundwater resource protection; groundwater sustainability; stakeholder involvement; integrated planning; and implementation, reporting, and updating. The goal, objectives, and actions of the GMP were developed collaboratively by the partner agencies and the Stakeholder Working Group. The overall goal of the Martis Valley GMP is to ensure long term quality and availability of groundwater in the Martis Valley Groundwater Basin. The objectives are: 1. Manage groundwater to maintain established and planned uses. 2. Manage groundwater within the provisions of the Truckee River Operating Agreement. 3. Collaborate and cooperate with groundwater users and stakeholders in the Martis Groundwater Basin. 4. Protect groundwater quantity and quality. 5. Pursue and use the best available science and technology to inform the decision making process. 6. Consider the environment and participate in the stewardship of groundwater re- sources. In addition to the goal and objectives, a series of actions were also developed collaboratively that support the goal and objectives. The goal, objectives, and actions are included as Attachment 1. Each of the partnership agencies Boards is required to adopt the GMP formally by March, 2013. The adoption must follow a prescribed set of rules regarding public notice, public protests, and adoption. This District will have received oral and written comments from members of the public regarding the District's intent to update the Martis Valley GMP. State law requires that the District adopt a resolution regarding the intent to update the Martis Valley GMP. Each Board will be, essentially, adopting the goals, objectives, and actions that are attached to this report and which are the basis of the GMP. At the January 16, 2013 regularly scheduled District Board meeting, the Board directed staff to schedule the Public Hearing for the February 20, 2013 regularly scheduled Board meeting. 3. NEW INFORMATION A final Martis Valley GMP has been prepared for consideration of adoption by each respective agency. This GMP is available to the public at www.martisvalleVgmp.org and there have been no changes to this document since presented to the Board at the January 16, 2013 workshop at the regularly scheduled board meeting. The District advertised the Public Hearing on the Martis Valley GMP. This advertisement was done jointly with Northstar CSD and PCWA and appeared in the Sierra Sun on January 23rd and 30th. The respective Public Hearings for the District and Northstar CSD will be on February 20th and for PCWA on February 21 st. After the Public Hearing, each agency's Board will consider adoption of the updated GMP. 4. FISCAL IMPACT The Martis Valley GMP was largely funded from the FY11 budget with a smaller portion funded from the FY12 budget. There is no fiscal impact with this Public Hearing. 5. RECOMMENDATION Conduct a Public Hearing on the Martis Valley Groundwater Management Plan to receive written and oral comments. Steven Poncelet Public Information & Conservation Manag 1-,7z- z:;�� Michael D. Holley General Manager