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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11 GEI Martis GMP Annual Report-SP AGENDA ITEM #11 -L TRUCKEE . w Public District rr -A MEETING DATE: July 6, 2022 TO: Board of Directors FROM: Chad J. Reed, Water Utility Director SUBJECT: Review of the Martis Valley Groundwater Management Plan Annual Report x APPROVED BY Brian C. Wright, General Manager RECOMMENDATION: Receive the Martis Valley Groundwater Management Plan annual report prepared by GE I's staff. BACKGROUND: The District has a long history of stewardship and collaboration in managing water resources. A major tenant of local water resource management has been to use the best available science to inform the decision making process. This has resulted in decades of monitoring and scientific study, including the Desert Research Institute's Martis Valley groundwater model/report as part of the Federal Truckee River Basin Study. This effort was supported by the District, Northstar Community Services District- NCSD, and Placer County Water Agency - PCWA (Local Water Agencies) and was a key component of the collaboratively adopted 2013 Martis Valley Groundwater Management Plan (GMP). In 2014, California passed into law the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) which applied to all Medium and higher Priority basins (Martis Valley was at the time designated Medium Priority). This, in effect, put the implementation of the 2013 GMP on hold. The District, PCWA, NCSD, Town of Truckee, Nevada County and Placer County (local SGMA agencies) in the Martis Valley Groundwater Basin (MVGB) put forth an Alternative Submittal in December, 2016 in compliance with SGMA. The local SGMA agencies hired a licensed engineering firm (GEI Consultants) to certify the MVGB Alternative Submittal. Page 1 of 4 The Alternative Submittal and supporting GEI Consultants report document that the MVGB has operated within its sustainable yield for at least 25 years. Subsequently, in April of 2017, a first-year SGMA Annual Report was submitted while the on-going review by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) of the Alternative Submittal continued. In early 2019, while Alternative Submittal review still continued, DWR was required to review basin prioritization. The MVGB was initially again prioritized Medium but, upon review and engagement with DWR by the local SGMA agencies, the MVGB was re- prioritized to `Very Low' and was no longer required to comply with SGMA. The local SGMA agencies agreed to formally withdraw the Alternative Submittal from DWR consideration and to go back to the 2013 Martis Valley GMP framework, including reconvening the Stakeholder Working Group which was active in the development of the plan. It is believed that this local GMP framework is a much more effective and efficient process to manage groundwater resources than the heavy hand of SGMA regulation. The three Local Water Agencies worked with our local partners to develop a plan to go back to the GMP framework. This included updating the Stakeholder Working Group list to reflect the local agencies or groups with direct interest in Martis Valley groundwater resources. In general, the stakeholders fall into three categories: local public agencies; major water users/pumpers; and local non-profits/interest group. A GMP Stakeholder Working Group kick-off meeting was held on October 3, 2019 where the three Local Water Agencies reviewed the 2013 Martis Valley GMP and the key meetings and actions that would occur going forward. This includes an annual report tracking the performance and long-term sustainability of the groundwater basin along with an update to the GMP every five years. Given the significant amount of work and reporting during the SGMA Alternative Submittal, it was agreed that the start of the GMP would now be 2019. It was also agreed that first GMP annual report would cover the past two water years (October - September 2017/2018 and 2018/2019) which would provide continuity from the last SGMA annual report. This GMP annual report was conducted over the winter months with the annual Stakeholder Working Group meeting in the spring to review the results. The Local Water Agencies solicited a proposal from GEI Consultants who had previously done work in the Martis Valley on sustainable yield, the SGMA Alternative Submittal, and the SGMA Annual Report. GEI Consultants is very familiar with both the Martis Valley and the Local Water Agencies. GEI Consultant's proposal for the Martis Valley GMP Annual Report is $21,000 which was split equally amongst the three Local Water Agencies. The District's Board awarded a contract to GEI Consultants in December of 2019 and the two year report was presented to the Martis Valley Stakeholder Working Group in March of 2021. The delay in completing the report and presentation to the Stakeholder Working Group was a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Local Water Agencies have decided to keep the presentation of the annual report on a Spring cycle and secured a proposal from GEI to prepare an annual report covering Page 2 of 4 water years 2019/2020 and 2020/2021. The annual report is again covering the most recent two water years due to delays and reprioritization caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and other District priorities. The District's Board awarded a contract to GEI Consultants at the October 6, 2021 Board meeting. The Stakeholder Working Group meeting was held in spring of 2022 and will be yearly thereafter. GEI submitted a cost proposal of $22,000 for the Martis Valley GMP Annual Report, which was split equally amongst each of the Local Water Agencies. ANALYSIS/BODY The Local Water Agencies continue to pursue the GMP framework as the best way to manage and steward the Martis Valley groundwater resources. The GEI Consultants' annual report has been completed (See Attachment 1) and the Stakeholder Working Group meeting was held in Truckee on Wednesday June 15, 2022. The meeting included attendance and a presentation on the annual report results by GEI's lead technical expert. Below are key highlights: Water Year 2020 and 2021 were the only time in recorded history at the Truckee Ranger Station that back to back years were "dry" (at least one standard deviation below normal).This lack of precipitation has resulted in the drawdown in three of our wells which have taken longer to fully recover. This extra period of time to recover is expected and normal for dry periods like we just experienced. This prolonged draw down was only observed because the groundwater level monitoring program has voluntarily moved from twice yearly to monthly monitoring. This proactive increase in monitoring now provides a new set up data for the summer months to consider going forward. Monthly monitoring of groundwater levels is a major benefit to the scientist that are reviewing and analyzing the data, as it produces a more comprehensive data set and allows the scientist to better assess the health of the basin. This more comprehensive monitoring schedule is allowing the scientist to adequately track how fast the wells in the in the basin are recovering and how groundwater pumping is affecting the basin. Groundwater pumping changes year to year and during the past year pumping increased by 20% (1000 AF) over the previous year. During this report the "average pumping was about 7,500 acft" which is significantly lower than the published 22,000 AF per year safe yield. The overall decline of the basin storage was due mainly to the dry conditions and resulted in a net decrease of —17,000 AF over the past two years. This resulted in a —3.5% decrease in the estimated 484,000 AF basin wide storage. However, this decrease in basin storage is expected to be replenished during normal perception years so this is not a time for great concern. Goals and Objectives: This item is in support of the following goals and objectives: District Code1.05.020 Objectives: 1. Responsibly serve the public 1.3 Promote communication and cooperation with other public and private agencies. Page 3 of 4 5. Manage in an environmentally sound manner. 5.6 Provide key leadership in the stewardship of the District's aquifer, watershed, and natural infrastructure. Strategic Goals: 1. Manage for Financial Stability and Resiliency. 2. Environmental Stewardship: Create a sustainable, resilient environment for all of our communities. FISCAL IMPACT: No additional fiscal impact ATTACHMENTS: Attachment 1- Annual Report for the Martis Valley Groundwater Basin (Water Years 2020 and 2021). Page 4 of 4