Title
Consider authorizing the General Manager to enter into a Subgrant Agreement with the Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency to receive funding for services in support of Sustainable Groundwater Management Round 2 Implementation Grants #4600015881 (SVBGSA) and #4600015624 (MCWDGSA), in the amount not to exceed $250,000; and authorize the General Manager to execute up to two no-cost amendments to the Subgrant Agreement. (Staff Presenting: Amy Woodrow)
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Monterey County Water Resources Agency Board of Directors:
a. Authorize the General Manager to enter into a Subgrant Agreement with the Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency to receive funding for services in support of Sustainable Groundwater Management Round 2 Implementation Grants #4600015881 (SVBGSA) and #4600015624 (MCWDGSA), in the amount not to exceed $250,000; and
b. Authorize the General Manager to execute up to two no-cost amendments to the Subgrant Agreement.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
In 2022, the Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency (“SVBGSA”) adopted Groundwater Sustainability Plans (“GSP or GSPs”) for the Eastside Aquifer, Forebay Aquifer, Langley Area, and Upper Valley Aquifer Subbasins. Also in 2022, the SVBGSA and Marina Coast Water District Groundwater Sustainability Agency (“MCWDGSA”) adopted a GSP for the Monterey Subbasin.
In 2024, the SVBGSA and MCWDGSA were awarded funding from the State of California Department of Water Resources for Sustainable Groundwater Management Round 2 (“SGM Round 2”) Implementation Grants. The SGM Round 2 grants to the SVBGSA and MCWDGSA include tasks related to expanding well registration and groundwater extraction reporting programs for compliance with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (“SGMA”); these tasks are a continuation of work that the Monterey County Water Resources Agency (“Agency”) has been collaborating on with the SVBGSA through a Round 1 Subgrant Agreement that was authorized by the Agency Board of Directors in September 2022.
The Agency has been identified as a recipient of $250,000 from the SVBGSA and MCWDGSA SGM Round 2 grant funding as a subgrantee for coordination on well data analysis and expansion of the well registration and groundwater extraction reporting aspects of the Agency’s Groundwater Monitoring Program (Attachment 1). As described in the SGM Round 2 Subgrant Agreement, the Agency’s workplan is focused on data expansion within the Eastside Aquifer, Forebay Aquifer, Langley Area, Monterey, and Upper Valley Subbasins. Work on tasks described in the Subgrant Agreement will begin immediately continue through March 2026.
Agency efforts on the work covered by the SGM Round 2 Subgrant Agreement align with Agency Strategic Plan Goal B - Strategy 2: Collaborate with location Groundwater Sustainability Agencies, define MCWRA’s role, and implement a GSA integration plan and Goals C - Strategy 6: Pursue grant funding and cost saving opportunities from all available sources, including collaborating with the GSA.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
California Department of Water Resources, Marina Coast Water District Groundwater Sustainability Agency, and Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency
FINANCING:
Grant funds will cover the full amount of the work and deliverables described in the SGM Round 2 Subgrant Agreement. No cost share is required by the subgrantee.
Prepared by: Amy Woodrow, Senior Water Resources Hydrologist, (831) 755-4860
Approved by: Ara Azhderian, General Manager, (831) 755-4860
Attachments:
1. Subgrant Agreement between the Monterey County Water Resources Agency and Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency