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FAQs

What is groundwater?

Groundwater is the water found underground within the cracks and spaces in soil, sand, and rock. It is stored in and moves slowly through geologic formations called aquifers.

What is the Tracy Subbasin?

The Tracy Subbasin is a groundwater subbasin located in the western part of California’s San Joaquin Valley. It is primarily located in San Joaquin County, with a small part in Alameda County. It is generally bounded by the San Joaquin River on the north and east and the San Joaquin County line on the south and west.

The Tracy Subbasin is one of 19 groundwater subbasins within the larger San Joaquin Valley Basin. It is designated by the state as a non-critically overdrafted, medium-priority basin.

How is groundwater used in the Tracy Subbasin?

Groundwater is primarily used for drinking water and irrigation. A total of 13,000 acre-feet of groundwater is used per year for these purposes. However, this only accounts for 3 percent of the total water supplies for the Tracy Subbasin.

Local agencies have collaboratively managed groundwater resources in the Tracy Subbasin for decades. As a result of these efforts, groundwater resources in the Tracy Subbasin are already sustainable. The Groundwater Sustainability Plan is providing a roadmap to continue to the sustainability of the region’s groundwater supplies.

Who is managing the Tracy Subbasin?

The Tracy Subbasin is being managed by six Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (or “GSAs”), that were formed after the passage of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in 2014. These agencies are the:

These agencies are working together to implement a single Groundwater Sustainability Plan for the subbasin.

*There is currently no website for this agency.

What is SGMA?

SGMA stands for the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014. The goal of SGMA is to ensure the long-term sustainable management of the California’s groundwater resources. SGMA requires agencies throughout state to meet certain requirements. These include:

  • Form new Groundwater Sustainability Agencies
  • Develop and adopt a Groundwater Sustainability Plan by January 2022 for medium priority basins
  • Update the plan every five years
  • Demonstrate groundwater sustainability by 2042 for medium priority basins

What is a Groundwater Sustainability Agency?

Within each basin or subbasin, Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSA) are made up of one or more local agencies that collaborate and coordinate with one another to form a governing body that, on a basin-wide or subbasin-wide scale, sustainably manages groundwater at a local level per the requirements of SGMA.

What is a Groundwater Sustainability Plan?

A Groundwater Sustainability Plan (or “GSP”) is a road map for how local water managers will manage the subbasin’s groundwater resources now and into the future. The GSP identifies a water budget for the subbasin, goals to achieve sustainability of the subbasin’s groundwater resources, and projects and actions to continue the sustainability of the region’s groundwater supplies. The final GSP for the Tracy Subbasin was submitted to the state in January 2022, and the Subbasin is now in the GSP implementation phase.

How does this impact me?

The Groundwater Sustainability Plan for the Tracy Subbasin is identifying a pathway to ensure that the region’s groundwater resources continue to be sustainable. This is especially important for individuals that use groundwater for their home, business, or farm. Groundwater is also essential to the region’s thriving agricultural economy. Contact your local Groundwater Sustainability Agency to learn more about how this may impact you and your community.

How is this being paid for?

Funding to develop the Groundwater Sustainability Plan and public outreach is currently 100 percent funded through several sources, including:

How can I get involved?

The best way to be kept informed about implementation of the Groundwater Sustainability Plan is by signing up as an interested party. You can provide comments public documents or SGMA-related GSA activities by attending public meetings and workshops or submitting a comment on the Tracy Subbasin website. The website provides a list of regularly scheduled public meetings.

What was required to adopt the Groundwater Sustainability Plan?

To adopt the GSP, the governing body (e.g. city council, board of directors) of each GSA had to vote to adopt the plan at a public hearing. The GSP had to be adopted by each GSA in the Tracy Subbasin before it could be submitted to the California Department of Water Resources for review and approval. The final GSP was submitted to the state in January 2022. The Tracy Subbasin is now in the GSP implementation phase.

What happens after the Groundwater Sustainability Plan is adopted?

Now that the GSP has been adopted and submitted, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) has up to two years to review the plan. If the GSP is found to be inadequate, the GSAs will be given an opportunity to address the deficiencies. If the deficiencies cannot be addressed, the State Water Resources Control Board may intervene. We do not anticipate this happening in the Tracy Subbasin.

The GSAs will continue to coordinate to monitor conditions in the Subbasin, implement projects and actions to manage the sustainability of the groundwater resources, prepare annual reports, and update the GSP every five years. Public and stakeholder input will continue to guide GSAs in managing the basin.

Is there a cost associated with implementing the GSP?

There is a cost associated with implementing the GSP. Some costs will be split among the six GSAs in the Subbasin to reduce the cost to any individual agency. This includes costs to update the GSP, prepare annual reports, and conduct basin-wide or subbasin-wide technical work and outreach. Shared costs will be split based on a cost methodology that allocates costs 60% on groundwater pumping, 20% on acreage, and 20% on population each GSA has in the Non-Delta Management Area of the Tracy Subbasin. Costs for projects and management actions will be paid for the agency implementing them.

Is there an opportunity for public input now that the GSP has been adopted?

Yes, interested parties and members of the public will continue to have opportunities to provide input on the GSP and groundwater management activities now that the GSP has been adopted. Members of the public will be able to provide input on updates to the GSP, which will occur, at a minimum, every five years, and the annual reports that must be submitted each spring. There will also be public engagement opportunities for the groundwater management projects identified in the plan. It is anticipated that the GSAs will also hold periodic workshops on conditions in the basin.

Interested parties can stay informed about continued opportunities for public input by signing-up for our email notification list, attending regular GSP Coordination Committee meetings, and visiting our website.