What We Do

 

The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) was passed in September of 2014 and became law on January 1, 2015. SGMA required all high and medium priority groundwater basins to be managed by one or more groundwater sustainability agencies (GSA). These GSA(s) will have the authority, and obligation, to develop one or more groundwater sustainability plans (GSP) that develops solutions for the long-term sustainable management of local groundwater resources.

Each groundwater subbasin was required to have all of its geographic area covered by one or more GSA(s) by June 30, 2017. MIUGSA was formed to sustainably manage the Merced Groundwater Subbasin, which is a Critically Overdrafted Basin.

Three GSAs were established in the Merced Groundwater Subbasin and collaborated on the creation of one GSP. The GSAs applied for and were awarded a $1.5M grant from DWR to support the costs of developing the GSP.  

The Merced Subbasin GSP was submitted to the California Department of Water Resources on January 28, 2020, and details how the Merced Subbasin will become sustainable over a 20-year timeframe through a combination of projects and management of groundwater pumping. The GSAs now move into the implementation phase of the GSP, which will involve implementation of projects and management actions, ongoing stakeholder engagement, coordination with neighboring basins, and monitoring of basin groundwater conditions. MIUGSA is responsible for groundwater management over its respective portion of the basin.

The Merced Subbasin GSP can be found at mercedsgma.org

 

What We’ve Achieved

  • Formed in 2017.

  • Coordinated the development of a single Groundwater Sustainability Plan for the Merced Groundwater Subbasin with two other Groundwater Sustainability Agencies.

  • Submitted the Merced Groundwater Sustainability Plan in January 2020.

  • Started implementation January 2020.