The Santa Cruz Mid-County Groundwater Agency (MGA or Agency) is a Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) formed in March 2016 to comply with California’s 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). SGMA is the first legislation in California history to require that groundwater is locally and sustainably managed for future generations.
The Agency is Joint Powers Authority (JPA) (PDF) comprised of four Member Agencies: the City of Santa Cruz, the County of Santa Cruz, Soquel Creek Water District, and Central Water District. As directed by SGMA, only public agencies with authority to manage water are authorized to form a local GSA. Emphasizing regional collaboration, the MGA Member Agencies chose to form a broadly representative governing body consisting of an 11-member board that includes two representatives from each Member Agency, as well as three private well owner representatives. Current Board Members are listed here.
The MGA’s mission is to ensure a safe and reliable groundwater supply is available for everyone who relies on water from the Basin, now and in the future. To achieve this, the Agency has developed a comprehensive Sustainability Program that includes a Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) with quantifiable sustainability metrics, monitoring, analysis and reporting, and projects and management actions to achieve sustainability. Elements of the Sustainability Program can be viewed from the main menu of the website.
The Agency is responsible for managing groundwater resources in the Santa Cruz Mid-County Groundwater Basin (Basin). The Basin includes the communities of Soquel, Aptos, Capitola, Live Oak, La Selva Beach, and portions of the surrounding area. View the Basin Map here.
