Page 149 - Yucaipa Sustainable Groundwater Management Agency - Yucaipa SGMA

June 19, 2018

Re: Proposal to Develop a Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) for the Yucaipa Basin Area

Dear Mr. Jones:

San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water and its partner agencies have successfully managed Yucaipa
Basin for decades. I personally was involved in a 1988 perennial study for Yucaipa Valley Water
District and was impressed by the management that reversed 1960s overdraft with conjunctive
use, active recharge, and comprehensive monitoring and investigations. These decades of
management provide the technical and institutional basis for successful development of a GSP.

In recent years, we have appreciated the opportunity to work with you on expansion and
optimization of your management efforts. To develop a GSP, we can combine that local experience
and knowledge with our GSP expertise from elsewhere across California; as documented in the
enclosed proposal, we have assisted ten agencies with the Sustainable Groundwater Management
Act (SGMA) requirements and we currently are working on five GSPs, including several on the fast‐
track for critically‐overdrafted basins. We can bring you lessons learned from that experience.

I am pleased to propose Mr. Edwin Lin as Project Manager. Edwin has deep understanding of the
basin, broad knowledge of SGMA, recent experience in Yucaipa Basin, and a shared vision with you
of sustainable management. He is an accomplished project manager. As such, he has organized a
strong and cohesive team including staff from Todd Groundwater for hydrogeology, SGMA issues,
monitoring, modeling, feasibility analysis, and plan implementation; CWE for evaluation and
costing of projects; and MIG for public outreach. We look forward to working with them again.

Yucaipa Basin has been proactively managed and this has yielded solid working relationships, a
good understanding of the basin, extensive data, and a near‐complete modeling tool. Nonetheless,
SGMA mandates a relatively intense process with considerable public outreach and with detailed,
comprehensive, and rigorous technical requirements. Understanding this challenge, Edwin and his
team have developed an approach that builds on past accomplishments while looking toward
future optimization of management practices and maintenance of sustainability.

We look forward to the opportunity to work with you and your staff on this important work toward
groundwater sustainability. Please do not hesitate to call or email Edwin or me.

Sincerely,

Iris Priestaf, PhD
President
ipriestaf@toddgroundwater.com

2490 Mariner Square Loop, Suite 215 | Alameda, CA 94501 |p: 510 747 6920 | f: 510 747 6921
Yucaipa Sustainable Groundwater Management Agency - August 9, 2018 - Page 147 of 208