The Department of Water Resources approved the Groundwater Sustainability Plan for the Santa Cruz Mid-County Groundwater Basin on June 3, 2021.
Information on the Basin GSP, approval of the GSP and comments received from DWR can be found on the SGMA Portal.
Upcoming MGA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
Thursday, September 18, 2025 at 6:00PM
Capitola Branch Library
2005 Wharf Road, Capitola
June 12, 2025 Meeting Materials:
We rely only on groundwater, but our aquifers have been overpumped. For more information, click here.
The Plan is posted here.
Public meetings and how you can get involved. For more information, click here.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Click HERE for updates on Olive Springs Road monitoring well construction in the Santa Cruz Mid-County Groundwater Basin. (January 2024)
