A Letter About Water to the Yolo County Board of Supervisors: A New Awareness

On July 23, 2019, Mr. John Young, then Yolo County Agricultural Commissioner, was asked at a Yolo County Board of Supervisors meeting, what was the biggest challenge to agriculture?

He spoke about water resource issues given the accelerated conversion of agricultural land to perennial crops over several years. He mentioned that: “there is a change in the way we use water, and we need to start recognizing that, and that we may not be in a place where we have a problem today, but if the trend continues without us recognizing potential problems, I think we get in trouble.” He emphasized that the growth in acreage of perennial crops will have an impact on water supply and recommended for an early report to establish sustainability yields, “before we are shocked.” Concluding that “Water is number one, if do not have water we do not have people, we do not have agriculture.”

At this meeting, the Board of Supervisors recognized the changes to the agricultural landscape and the potential negative impact on the Yolo Groundwater Subbasin. They asked for this topic to be included in the upcoming strategic plan and for the Commissioner to fast track the input/output analysis, to establish sustainability yields. Since 2019, the acreage with permanent crops has continued to increase in Class A soils and reaching deeper into historically non-irrigated lands in the Dunnigan Hills and the Hungry Hollow areas. With the approval to drill new deep wells, thousands of acres of non-irrigated lands have been converted into orchards and vineyards. This conversion to intensify agricultural production, without surface water deliveries or limiting the amount of water that can be pumped, creates a sustained demand for groundwater, hardening the demand on the only source to irrigate these crops. Many of these well permits were issued during an extended drought, establishing tree and vine crops that will continue to exert additional pressure on the aquifers, as the crops mature.    

The pumping pressure on the aquifers is real. It is quickly affecting well water levels at local family farms that have spent decades with reliable groundwater yields. Many rural Yolo residents have also lost their well drinking water sources. The City of Zamora, located in the northwestern corner of the county and identified by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) as an Underrepresented Community is one such place. This identification creates eligibility to participate in their Technical Assistance Program, after recognizing that the YSGA has yet to ameliorate their “needs, risks and vulnerabilities.”

The YSGA’s GSP report was recently approved by DWR, with a few conditions to address the on-going deterioration of several sustainable indicators with undesirable results. This includes the “significant and unreasonable depletion of supply” and the impact with lowering of the groundwater tables in areas of special concern. There are also indications of undesirable water quality, already evident with the olive trees showing signs of Boron concentrations. Water budgets are still needed for each of the focus areas, to conduct input/output assessments that account for groundwater extractions and measure the potential for groundwater recharge. It is critical to recognize that before new well permits are issued, the Board should consider the additional impact that these new land conversions will have on the already impacted aquifers. Mr. Grant Davids, who provided written comments for the YSGA’s well permit review process, asked the question: “if groundwater levels are persistently declining, what is the justification for permitting any new wells that would increase groundwater extraction?[1]” 

YSGA is doing a Yeomans work, with the seriousness of purpose and determination. They have great need for additional staff resources and more participation from agricultural companies producing crops in the focus areas, for them to voluntarily contribute data into the well monitoring program. YSGA has limited visibility to calculate a sustainable yield for the Hungry Hollow aquifer area and are unable to see the impact that a new plantation will have on the demand for additional water from an already over drafted aquifer. They are doing this without knowing how many millions of gallons of water have already been extracted and will continue to be pumped, or the water holding capacity of the aquifer, a baseline water level, or historical trends.

On November 11, 2023, Mr. Matt Louche spoke to the Board of Supervisors about water issues of concern to his agricultural operations in the Dunnigan Hills and the Hungry Hollow focus areas. He recognized that: “the only way to fix the problem is to limit pumping.[2]” In addition to water quality implications from excessive groundwater pumping, these focus areas are delineated by YSGA to have low recharge potential. This region is also affected by degraded watersheds with limited vegetation, and highly incised channels with head cuts from the ridge down.[3] This further diminishes the landscape’s ability to hold water longer, to saturate soil profiles and recharge aquifers.

On November 20, 2023, the YSGA Board of Directors approved a technical assistance contract to conduct a water budget assessment for the Hungry Hollow. It will take time for the report to be available, however we know that water levels have dropped fast and deep, we know that there is unrestricted groundwater pumping from existing wells, and we know that the basin has a low recharge potential. We do not know how many millions of gallons of water have been extracted, without a baseline and data about the aquifer’s water recharge and holding capacities. Regarding the future, we can assume that the water budget study will show an input/output deficit, with more groundwater pumped than replenished, without knowing how much water is left in the aquifer.

On September 12, 2023, the Board of Supervisors authorized a 45-day moratorium on new well permits, acknowledging community concerns and awareness on the impact on their groundwater aquifers. That moratorium was lifted because the YSGA is scheduled to adopt in January 2024, a targeted well permit process for new and replacement wells in the focus areas. Unfortunately, the reality underground has not changed and the pressure on the aquifers is already relentless. Any new well permit will continue to expand the conversion of historically non-irrigated lands to intensive agricultural production. Adding more demand on groundwater, with no limits to pumping, without knowing where we are on the sustainability yield curve.

Considering that there is no data to establish sustainability yields in the Hungry Hollow, it is prudent to adopt serious land and water conservation measures. We must put forth the effort to stop the conversion of historically non-irrigated lands to intensive agriculture by not approving well permits, while creating a system to limit groundwater pumping.   

Please support this petition asking the Board to protect historic non-irrigated lands from groundwater-intensive agricultural development in the county. Gracias, Ricardo 

Letters About Water | Ricardo Amon | Substack

 
[1] "If groundwater levels are persistently declining, what is the justification for permitting any new wells that would increase groundwater extraction" Grant Davids. (substack.com)

[2] "The Only Way to Fix the Problem is to Limit Pumping" (substack.com)

[3] A Conversation About Water in the Hungry Hollow Watershed, with Andrew Millison, Oregon State University (substack.com)