Sonoma County groundwater management agencies get $3 million in state grants

The California Department of Water Resources has awarded $1 million grants to each of the three public groundwater agencies serving the Santa Rosa Plain, Sonoma Valley and Petaluma Valley.

The funding came from a ballot measure approved by California voters in 2014 authorizing $100 million for groundwater planning and projects statewide.

The local agencies were created in 2017 to manage groundwater in basins designated by the state as medium- or high-priority areas and given until 2022 to develop plans to ensure sufficient groundwater to meet “foreseeable needs” for the following 50 years.

Groundwater plans are expected to include recommendations for groundwater recharge, recycled water and new incentives for water conservation, along with regulating groundwater use for the first time in state history.