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Date: |
November 17, 2026 |
15 |
Title
Receive the Five-Year Evaluation of the San Pasqual Valley Groundwater Sustainability Plan, Authorize Related Actions, and Determine the Actions Are Not a Project under CEQA (District: 2)
End
Overview
The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) became effective January 1, 2015, requiring local agencies in specified groundwater basins to form Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) and develop and implement Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs) to achieve long-term groundwater sustainability. SGMA requires a GSA to prepare and submit a comprehensive evaluation of its GSP every five years. The County of San Diego (County) and City of San Diego (City) jointly serve as the GSA for the San Pasqual Valley Groundwater Basin (Basin) under a Memorandum of Understanding adopted by the Board of Supervisors (Board) in 2017. The first five-year evaluation of the San Pasqual Valley GSP is due to the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) by January 28, 2027.
The Basin is located approximately 25 miles northeast of downtown San Diego within the San Pasqual Valley (Attachment A). The City adopted the San Pasqual Valley GSP in December 2021, the Board adopted the GSP in January 2022, and DWR approved the GSP in October 2023. The GSP demonstrated that the Basin was sustainable and established measures to maintain sustainable conditions. The City and County jointly prepared the five-year evaluation through a coordinated collaborative process that included stakeholder workshop meetings to inform groundwater management and technical considerations. A draft evaluation was released for a 30-day public review from August 3, 2026, through September 4, 2026. Comments received during the public review period were reviewed and incorporated, as feasible, into the final evaluation.
The five-year evaluation confirms that the Basin remains sustainable and documents continued progress implementing the GSP. Key updates include new monitoring for land subsidence (sinking or settling of the ground surface) and groundwater-dependent ecosystems, and an updated groundwater model incorporating recent data and a refined evaluation of future climate change conditions.
Today’s actions request that the Board receive the informational report on the five-year evaluation of the GSP, authorize Planning & Development Services (PDS) to enter into a cost-reimbursement agreement with the City of San Diego for continued GSP implementation, and authorize PDS to pursue grant funds from the State of California to support sustainable groundwater management.
Body
Recommendation by Chief Administrative Officer:
1) Determine that the proposed actions are not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(2) and (5).
2) Receive the five-year evaluation of the San Pasqual Valley Groundwater Sustainability Plan (Attachment B).
3) Authorize the Director, Planning & Development Services (PDS), to enter into a five-year cost-reimbursement agreement with the City of San Diego for implementation of the San Pasqual Valley Groundwater Sustainability Plan. Authorize the PDS Director to enter into an agreement for a second consecutive five-year term if the terms remain materially unchanged.
4) Authorize the PDS Director to apply for and accept grant funds and to negotiate contracts to support sustainable groundwater management through Fiscal Year (FY) 2036-37 as detailed in the Grant Resolution.
5) Adopt a Resolution (Attachment C) entitled:
A Resolution of the Board of Supervisors of the County of San Diego Relating to Applying for and Accepting Grant Funding to Support Sustainable Groundwater Management [Grant Resolution]
6) Approve and authorize the execution of the Grant Resolution by the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors (Clerk).
1) End
Equity Impact Statement
Planning & Development Services (PDS) carries out the County’s responsibilities under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in accordance with Board direction. Continued implementation of the San Pasqual Valley Groundwater Sustainability Plan supports reliable groundwater resources for residents and agricultural operations within the Basin. Under the proposed cost-reimbursement agreements with the City of San Diego, the County’s proportional share of implementation costs would be funded through County General Fund resources, supplemented by grant funding, if available. This funding approach avoids imposing costs on residents through basin-specific fees that would have been paid by the limited population within the Basin during the terms of the agreements.
Sustainability Impact Statement
This action aligns with County Sustainability Goal 5 to protect water in all forms. Continued implementation of the San Pasqual Valley Groundwater Sustainability Plan supports long-term groundwater reliability and protection of groundwater quality within the Basin. Stable groundwater conditions also support agricultural and other groundwater-dependent operations in San Pasqual Valley. The five-year evaluation confirms that the Basin remains sustainable, reinforcing responsible and resilient water resource management.
Fiscal Impact
Funds for this request are included in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026-27 Operational Plan in Planning & Development Services (PDS). The funding source is existing General Fund fund balance previously appropriated for SGMA activities. The County’s share of consulting costs is estimated at approximately $300,000 over the five-year term of the cost-reimbursement agreement, covering FY 2027-28 through FY 2031-32. The County’s estimated share of consulting costs for the second consecutive five-year term, covering FY 2032-33 through FY 2036-37, would also be approximately $300,000, assuming the agreement terms remain materially unchanged. If State of California grant funds become available, PDS may pursue such funding opportunities, as appropriate, to offset implementation costs. There will be no change in net General Fund cost and no additional staff years.
Business Impact Statement
N/A
Advisory Board Statement
N/A
Background
The overarching goal of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) is to establish and achieve sustainability in a basin through implementation of a Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP). Sustainable groundwater management provides for the continued availability of groundwater resources to meet current and future needs without causing degraded water quality or chronic lowering of groundwater levels. In addition to annual reporting requirements, SGMA requires Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) to prepare and submit a comprehensive five-year evaluation of the GSP.
To comply with SGMA, the County of San Diego (County) and City of San Diego (City) formed a GSA for the San Pasqual Valley Groundwater Basin (Basin) by adopting a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on June 21, 2017. The City adopted the San Pasqual Valley GSP in December 2021, the County adopted the GSP in January 2022, and the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) approved the GSP in October 2023. SGMA requires groundwater basins to achieve sustainability within 20 years of GSP implementation. The GSP demonstrated that groundwater use in the Basin is already sustainable and established ongoing monitoring and management actions to maintain sustainable conditions. DWR’s approval included recommended corrective actions for consideration in the first five-year evaluation.
The five-year evaluation of the San Pasqual Valley GSP (see Attachment B) confirms that the Basin continues to be managed sustainably and incorporates analysis responsive to DWR’s recommended corrective actions. Observed groundwater levels remained within established thresholds throughout the five-year evaluation period. The evaluation establishes new monitoring for land subsidence, includes a groundwater-dependent ecosystems study and threshold-based monitoring measures, and updates the groundwater model with recent data and an expanded evaluation of future climate change conditions. Because these updates refine how Basin conditions are monitored and evaluated without changing how the Basin is managed, an amendment to the GSP was not required.
Although the Basin remains sustainable, the GSP includes pumping reductions among the management actions that could be implemented if extended drought conditions result in exceedances of established thresholds. The five-year evaluation adds a voluntary, City-led management action to develop a plan for potential upstream releases from Sutherland Reservoir and, if feasible, implement releases to recharge the Basin and potentially reduce the need for pumping reductions.
Stakeholder input was solicited through workshop meetings and a 30-day public review period conducted from August 3, 2026, to September 4, 2026. Comments received during the public review period focused primarily on the groundwater model, the Basin boundary, including potential groundwater connections with adjacent lands, and the timing of planning for potential Sutherland Reservoir releases. In response, the GSA clarified that the groundwater model will continue to be refined as new data becomes available and that management actions are based on measured groundwater levels, not model projections. The GSA also clarified that the five-year evaluation does not change the Basin boundary and that the management framework provides advance time for the City to plan for potential Sutherland Reservoir releases before pumping restrictions could be implemented.
Since adoption of the GSP, the GSA has continued implementation through ongoing monitoring and submission of annual reports to DWR. Annual reports have consistently documented that the Basin remains sustainable. The evaluation presented today reflects this continued record of sustainable Basin conditions.
Approximately 90 percent of the San Pasqual Valley Groundwater Basin is within City jurisdiction and approximately 10 percent is within County jurisdiction (see Attachment A). Consistent with the MOU, the City continues to serve as the contracting agency responsible for retaining and managing consultant support for implementation of the GSP. The cost-reimbursement agreement would extend the existing proportional cost-sharing arrangement under which the County pays 10 percent of consultant costs, reflecting its jurisdictional area within the Basin. Authorization to pursue and accept grant funding (see Attachment C) would allow the County to leverage State funding opportunities, if available, to offset implementation costs.
Environmental Statement
The Five-Year Evaluation of the San Pasqual Valley Groundwater Sustainability Plan is not a “project” under CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(2) and (5) because it is an administrative activity and does not adopt or amend the GSP, implement management actions, or authorize any activity that may result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
The Board’s authorization to enter into cost-reimbursement agreements and to pursue and accept grant funding is administrative and fiscal in nature and does not approve or authorize any specific project or physical activity.
Linkage To The County of San Diego Strategic Plan
Today’s proposed action supports the Sustainability, Community, and Empower initiatives in the County’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2026-2031 Strategic Plan. The Five-Year Evaluation reinforces long-term groundwater stewardship and resource stability, maintains reliable water supplies that contribute to regional resilience and quality of life, and promotes transparency and accountability through public reporting and performance review of basin conditions.
Respectfully submitted,
Dahvia Lynch
Deputy Chief Administrative Officer
Attachment(s)
Due to the size of the attachments, the documents are available online through the Clerk of the Board's website at www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/cob/bosa.html <http://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/cob/bosa.html>.
Attachment A - San Pasqual Valley Groundwater Basin Jurisdictional Boundaries Map
Attachment B - San Pasqual Valley Five-Year Evaluation of the Groundwater Sustainability
Plan
Attachment C - A Resolution of the Board of Supervisors of the County of San Diego Relating to Applying for and Accepting Grant Funding to Support Sustainable Groundwater Management [Grant Resolution]