ASCE San Luis Obispo Branch February Lunch Meeting

Please join us at our February Branch meeting for a presentation by Carolyn Berg from the County of San Luis Obispo on the "Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) Implementation".

California’s Central Coast Hydrologic Region relies on groundwater for approximately 80-percent of its water supply to serve rural, urban, agricultural, and environmental demands. San Luis Obispo County, one of six counties within this region, has 22 groundwater basins underlying 3,304 square miles of largely rural and agricultural lands. Historically, these groundwater basins have had no requirements to manage groundwater. However in January 2015, the State enacted its first major groundwater law –the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA)—that requires local agencies to establish governance structures in order to sustainably manage groundwater resources, and to prepare and implement Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSP).

Based on the State Department of Water Resources’ (DWR) 2014 Final Basin Prioritization, there are five high and medium priority groundwater basins mapped in San Luis Obispo County: Paso Robles (High), Santa Maria (High), Los Osos (High), San Luis Obispo (Edna) Valley (Medium), and Cuyama Valley (Medium). On January 13, 2015, the County Board of Supervisors adopted the SGMA Strategy and directed staff to implement the policy. The overarching strategy seeks to: “establish community focused Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSA) based on cooperative interagency and stakeholder relationships in order to comply with SGMA requirements.” It also describes specific actions such as seeking the maximum feasible funding through grant applications, supporting establishment of organizational agreements, and maximum feasible outreach to all potentially affected stakeholders.

Carolyn Berg, Senior Water Resources Engineer of County Public Works, will present an overview of the new SGMA law, and local efforts to comply with its requirements.

Lunch Options:

The Burger on a brioche bun with lettuce, onion, tomato and your choice of honey mustard or garlic aioli (garden patty available)

2. Veggie Pizza with pesto sauce, artichoke hearts, red onion, sun dried tomato, basil & pine nuts

3. Blackened Fish Tacos with cabbage, pico de gallo, corn totillas, guacamole, cilantro lime creme fraiche