Page 80 - Yucaipa Sustainable Groundwater Management Agency - Yucaipa SGMA
P. 80
1. Project Understanding
Groundwater from the Yucaipa Sub-basin, a Recent Relevant Experience
part of the Upper Santa Ana Valley Groundwater
Basin (DWR basin number 8-2.07), is utilized by with GSP Development
the South Mesa Water Company, Western
Heights Water Company, and the YVWD to meet Dudek offers the full range of groundwater
most of the water demands of their respective expertise to develop a GSP for the GSA. This
customers. The DWR has designated the Basin expertise includes extensive water policy and
a high-priority basin based on population size planning, numerical modeling, hydrologic and
and growth, reliance on groundwater for public geologic analysis, financial cost recovery, and
water supply, and long-term declines in local and stakeholder engagement. Additionally,
groundwater levels (i.e., reduction in storage).
as the only team to have produced preliminary
Valley District, Western Heights Water draft GSPs for public review, we bring a
Company, and YVWD began discussions in perspective that has been shaped by lessons
2011 to develop a groundwater management learned in other basins.
plan. The City of Redlands, San Gorgonio Pass
Water Agency, South Mesa Water Company, Lessons Learned
and City of Yucaipa later joined the GMP group
and initiated investigations to estimate the safe Communication is Critical
yield and available storage capacity of the basin
and to evaluate potential sites for enhanced The single most important factor in determining
groundwater recharge. the success of a GSP is communication. This
includes communication between the
In 2017, following the passage of SGMA in consultant and the GSA, the GSA and
2014, Valley District, YVWD, and the other stakeholders, and the member agencies of the
entities formed the Yucaipa GSA. The GSA must GSA. When open lines of communication are
submit a GSP for the sub-basin to DWR by maintained, the project remains on schedule
January 31, 2022.
and stakeholder feedback is incorporated into
The goal of this project is to develop a the development of the sustainable
comprehensive GSP using the best available management criteria, which is vital to obtaining
data that is also adaptive and provides approval from DWR.
operational flexibility to sustainably manage the
groundwater resources of the Basin. The GSP Uncertainty is Expected
will incorporate the extensive work already
conducted, including the recent Valley District In order to be successful, a GSP must
investigation of the storage capacity and acknowledge and embrace uncertainty. Initially,
evaluation of potential sites for artificial this takes the form of a data gap assessment,
recharge. Artificial recharge projects will be which will guide the understanding of the
evaluated along with other potential projects in context for the numerical groundwater model
the GSP as part of determining the long-term results, and eventually quantify the confidence
future sustainable yield of the Basin. intervals that will be assigned to the
sustainable yield. By acknowledging
uncertainty, the GSA will be able to adopt an
adaptive management strategy for the Basin
Develop Groundwater Sustainability Plan for the Yucaipa Basin Area Page 1
Yucaipa Sustainable Groundwater Management Agency - August 9, 2018 - Page 79 of 208
