The second and third Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) workshops - like the first in Willows in late January - were very well attended and extremely informative. All three workshops focused primarily on the topic of governance. Attendees were largely county, city, and water district decision-makers and key staff. The February 04, 2015 workshop in Tulare was hosted by the Tulare County Water Commission. The February 5 workshop in Modesto was hosted by Stanislaus County and the Turlock Irrigation District.
Tulare County Supervisor Allen Ishida opened the Tulare workshop, followed by Kate Williams of the California Water Foundation who provided an overview of the SGMA and local governance considerations. Three case studies followed: Kern County Supervisor David Couch and Eric Averett of the Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District discussed activities taking place in the Kern County Basin; Dave Orth with the Kings River Conservation District and Alan Weaver representing Fresno County discussed efforts in the Kings Basin; and Mark Larson from the Kaweah Delta Water Conservation District and Denise England of Tulare County presented on the Kaweah Basin.
Stanislaus County Supervisor Vito Chiesa opened the Modesto workshop, followed by Kate Williams providing an overview of SGMA and local governance considerations. Three case studies were presented in the morning: Walt Ward representing Stanislaus County discussed efforts underway in Stanislaus County, followed by Herb Smart from the Turlock Irrigation District who presented on the Turlock Subbasin; John Davids of the Stanislaus and Tuolumne Rivers Groundwater Basin Association discussed the status of efforts in the Modesto Subbasinand, Mark Hutchinson, representing San Luis Obispo County, discussed the status of efforts in the Paso Robles Subbasin. Like the Tulare workshop, the Modesto workshop presenters and participants closed the day with comments and a question and answer period.
All three workshops were sponsored by RCRC, the Association of California Water Agencies, CSAC, and the California Water Foundation (an initiative of the Resources Legacy Fund). The links to the presentations can be found on the RCRC SGMA webpage, accessed here.