Receive a 60-day update on actions taken by staff in regard to the moratorium on the approval of new agricultural well permits in the Yolo Subbasin Groundwater Agency (YSGA) Focus Areas since the last update provided to the Board on December 9, 2025. (No general fund impact) (Fieseler/Meneghetti)

Receive a 60-day update on actions taken by staff in regard to the moratorium on the approval of new agricultural well permits in the Yolo Subbasin Groundwater Agency (YSGA) Focus Areas since the last update provided to the Board on December 9, 2025.

On August 26, 2025, the Board of Supervisors adopted Urgency Ordinance No. 1576 which imposed a temporary 45-day moratorium on the approval or issuance of well permits for new agricultural, non-exempt wells located within the Yolo Subbasin Groundwater Agency's (YSGA) designated Focus Areas of the Yolo Subbasin.

On October 7, 2025, the Board of Supervisors adopted Ordinance No. 1577, an urgency ordinance extending the temporary moratorium for up to an additional 10 months and 15 days (through August 25, 2026) to, among other things, allow time to better understand the impacts of land use changes, particularly the hardening of groundwater demands with increased conversion of land in the Focus Areas to perennial crops, on the sustainability of groundwater supplies. Urgency Ordinance No. 1577 further narrowed the scope of the moratorium to wells located within the Focus Areas.

At the October 7, 2025, meeting, the Board directed staff to provide regular 60-day updates on the actions taken by staff in regard to the temporary moratorium.  The first report was provided to the Board on December 9, 2025.  This is the second such report.

The Agricultural Well Permitting Working Group has continued to meet monthly.  

At the request of the working group, the YSGA provided a presentation at the December 4, 2025, meeting. The presentation provided the working group with an overview of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SMGA), the YSGA formation, and the 2022 Yolo Subbasin Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP).  The YSGA also provided an update on the implementation of the GSP, including current data collection and analysis efforts. There were opportunities for the working group members to ask questions during and after the presentation.  Many members expressed appreciation for the presentation and agreed that this will assist them in making recommendations on the topics to be presented at the future meetings.

The working group meeting on January 8, 2026, focused on two of the three topics that the working group is exploring in more detail. The first topic was well metering. The group discussed the purpose of requiring meters, considerations around data collection, and the scope of such a requirement. Because meters are already commonly installed for an owner's own use, the main concern with requiring meters was the logistics of how meter data would be collected and what might be publicly available if meters are required by either the County or the YSGA. The other topic discussed was additional hydrogeologic review requirements. The group discussed the difference between when the County and the YSGA may require an additional hydrogeologic review and what could be done to improve the confidence in the reports that are produced as a result of this review. Staff are reviewing the input and considering options to bring forward at a future working group meeting.

The next meeting will take place on February 5, 2026.  At this meeting, County Planning staff will provide an overview of the currently adopted land use regulatory landscape including the County General Plan and the possible discretionary land use review considerations for crop conversions and agricultural well permitting.

Staff has collaborated with the Yolo Subbasin Groundwater Agency, the Office of County Counsel, and the County Administrator's Office.