Tag Archives: Water Management

Harvest Water Talk with ECOS Water Committee, 4/8/2025

Please join the ECOS Water Committee on April 8, 2025 at 5:30 pm over zoom for a special guest presentation and discussion about the Harvest Water Program. Jofil Borja, Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Manager, and John Nurmi, Senior Civil Engineer, of the Sacramento Area Sewer District, will be presenting this deep dive into a large, local infrastructure project. Harvest Water will bring high quality recycled water (tertiary treated recycled water from the EchoWater Resource Recovery Facility) to the southern portion of Sacramento County for use in irrigating agricultural and existing habitat lands.

The project represents a long-term solution for future drought conditions by reducing the pressure on local groundwater aquifer stores by up to 50,000 acre feet per year, equivalent to 16 billion gallons per year, which is equivalent to roughly 2000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Harvest Water is currently under construction and is anticipated to be operational in 2027. By reducing the amount of groundwater pumped by farmers, it is anticipated that the groundwater aquifer can be restored to historic levels. This would bring a number of ecosystem benefits to the region including improvements in riparian and wetland habitat and increased streamflows in the Consumnes River. These benefits will enhance the habitats of various listed species including Sandhill crane, Swainson’s hawk, and fall-run Chinook salmon.

More info

Harvest Water Website
Harvest Water Ecosystem Benefits

To join the meeting

Link to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6656164155
To phone in: 669-900-6833, Meeting ID: 665 616 4155

Accounting System for the Regional Water Bank

On August 3, 2023, ECOS submitted a letter to the Regional Water Authority to suggest a meeting to discuss efforts to develop an Accounting System for the Regional Water Bank. Below is an excerpt.

We are interested in learning about how effective the 2012 Accounting Framework was in tracking and accounting for groundwater transactions within the bank, and which aspects of the 2012 Framework may be included in the new Regional Water Bank Accounting Framework currently in development. We are also interested in discussing how the requirements of SGMA will be incorporated in the Framework. Also, we suspect that the expanded monitoring and modeling of both the North and South American subbasins has provided additional sophistication and understanding of how groundwater moves within and between these subbasins. We would like to hear your plans for including this added technical understanding of subbasin operations into the accounting framework. We would also like to learn how you plan to account for any deposited ground water losses, and ideas you are considering regarding the use of portions of deposits to address groundwater dependent ecosystem needs, and, as a set asides to improve basin storage. Finally, the 2012 framework seemed to establish pumping levels for participants tied to water years. Is this approach one you are considering going forward, and would any resulting pumping agreements be included in Individual Purveyor Agreements established as part of the Water Forum 2 process?

Click here to read the letter (PDF).

Status of the Cosumnes Groundwater Subbasin 7/27

Thursday, July 27, 2023

Presentation/Discussion of the Status of the Cosumnes Groundwater Subbasin and Related Matters 6:10 – 7:10 by Austin Miller, Sloughhouse RCD Executive Director

The ECOS Water Committee invites you to join us in a presentation/discussion of the sustainability of the Cosumnes Groundwater Subbasin (CGA). This subbasin is the source of groundwater providing a significant amount of the water used by agriculture, rural residents, and small urban areas in the south county and western portions of Amador County that are located south of the Cosumnes River.

Austin Miller, Executive Director of the Sloughhouse RCD coordinates the management of the subbasin and will present the latest condition of the subbasin as reflected in the annual subbasin sustainability report recently submitted to the state. Austin will also brief us on interactions with the other subbasin GSAs, neighboring subbasins, and the Regional Water Authority on the development of a Regional Water Bank. Finally, Austin will discuss the ability of the Cosumnes Subbasin Groundwater Sustainability Agencies to implement the Subbasin’s Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) given the loss of grant funds and other limitations and what is planned to deal with these impediments. The effective implementation of the GSP is made more important given plans by local water purveyors to expand conjunctive use, the Regional Water Authority’s plan to operate a Regional Water Bank in the North and South American Subbasins, and the potential impacts these activities may have on the sustainability of the Cosumnes Subbasin. Bring your questions and be prepared for a thoughtful presentation and discussion.

Link to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6656164155
To phone in: 669-900-6833, Meeting ID: 665 616 4155

Click here to view the full meeting agenda.

Sustainability of the South American groundwater subbasin 6/28

The ECOS Water Committee invites you to join us on June 28 from 6:00 until 7:00 to take part in a presentation/discussion of the sustainability of the South American groundwater subbasin. This subbasin is the source of groundwater providing a significant amount of the water used by the urban areas and agricultural areas south of the American River. John Woodling, Executive Director of the Sacramento Central Groundwater Authority (SCGA), the agency that coordinates and manages a major portion of the subbasin, will be presenting the latest condition of the subbasin as reflected in the annual subbasin sustainability report recently submitted to the state. He will also describe efforts to protect Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems, shallow wells, and improve the subbasin’s monitoring and modeling programs. All of these actions are important given the plan by the Regional Water Authority to operate a water bank in the area overseen by SCGA. We are all interested to learn how SCGA plans to interact with the proposed Regional Water Bank. Bring your questions and be prepared for a thoughtful presentation and discussion.

Link to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6656164155
To phone in: 669-900-6833, Meeting ID: 665 616 4155

Local Water Issues: Sustainability of the North American Groundwater Subbasin 5/24

The ECOS Water Committee invites you to join us on May 24 from 6:00 until 7:00pm to take part in a presentation/discussion of the sustainability of the North American groundwater subbasin. This subbasin is the source of groundwater providing a significant amount of the water used by the urban areas north of the American River. Jim Peifer Executive Director of the Sacramento Groundwater Authority (SGA), the agency that coordinates and manages a major portion of the subbasin, will be presenting the latest condition of the subbasin as reflected in the annual subbasin sustainability report recently submitted to the state. He will also describe efforts to protect Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems, shallow wells, and improve the subbasin’s monitoring and modeling programs. All of these actions are important given the plan by the Regional Water Authority to operate a water bank in the area overseen by SGA. Bring your questions and be prepared for a thoughtful presentation and discussion.

For more information on areas of interest regarding the North American Subbasin please see the Water Committee’s letter of invitation to SGA.

Click here to view the agenda for the May 24 meeting of the ECOS Water Committee.