Recent News

MGA Seeks Private Well Owners to Serve on Board of Directors

APPLICATIONS DUE by 4:00 P.M. on October 29, 2025

The Santa Cruz Mid-County Groundwater Agency (MGA) is accepting applications to fill two vacancies for Private Well Owner Directors on the Board of Directors. The MGA is a public agency formed in 2016 to comply with California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. The MGA is responsible for groundwater management in the Mid-County Groundwater Basin in the communities of Soquel, Aptos, Capitola, Live Oak, and La Selva Beach.

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Groundwater Awareness Week March 9-15

On behalf of the Department of Water Resources’ (DWR) Sustainable Groundwater Management Office, we invite you to join us in celebrating National Groundwater Awareness Week. This year, DWR is celebrating by releasing a new toolkit with resources related to a different groundwater management theme each day.

Find DWR's toolkit and resources here: https://cadwr.box.com/s/ahv5eecibuzw9eh44792nl127l7jf1px.

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Senate Bill 552: What Does it Mean to You?

Water Resources Program Manager for Santa Cruz County Environmental Health, Sierra Ryan, recently penned an article with colleagues working in Water Resources across the state on what SB552 entails and how it impacts small and rural communities. They discuss small water suppliers, points of coordination between Counties and GSAs, and challenges to come. Read more here.

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Santa Cruz County Free Residential Well Water Quality Testing Program!

The County of Santa Cruz has launched a free water quality testing program in Santa Cruz County for residents who rely on a household water well. Testing services are available in both English and Spanish. To schedule a free testing, call (844) 613-5152 or visit www.centralcoastwelltesting.org.

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Basin GSP Annual Report Meets State Requirements

The Department of Water Resources (DWR) recently completed its review of the MGA's 2023 Annual Report on the Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) implementation and determined that the report successfully met all the state requirements. To comply with the State's Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), the MGA is required to complete both annual reporting as well as to conduct a comprehensive periodic evaluation of the GSP at least every 5 years. The MGA's periodic evaluation of the GSP is due in 2025 and is currently underway.

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Water Year 2023 Dry Season Stream Monitoring Report

Dry season (May through October) stream monitoring for 2023 has been completed. This monitoring provides information on how much groundwater in the Basin contributes to local streams. Assessing this relationship is an important component of complying with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. The report is available here: WY23 Dry Season Monitoring Report.