The Tracy Subbasin is a groundwater basin located in the western part of the San Joaquin Valley. Most of the subbasin is located in San Joaquin County, with a small part in Alameda County. It is primarily 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 not considered to be in an overdraft condition due to the long-term, collaborative management of the subbasin’s groundwater resources by local water managers.
The six Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSA) in the region include:
These agencies are collaboratively implementing one Groundwater Sustainability Plan for the Tracy Subbasin.
*There is currently no website for this agency.
Key Terminology
GSA = Groundwater Sustainability Agency
GSP = Groundwater Sustainability Plan
SGMA = Sustainable Groundwater Management Act
SMC = sustainable management criteria
Sustainable Groundwater Management Act
The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, known as “SGMA” (pronounced sig-ma), is a California State law that was passed in 2014. The goal of SGMA is to ensure the long-term sustainable management of the state’s groundwater resources. SGMA requires agencies throughout California to meet certain requirements. These include:
- Form new GSAs by January 2017
- Develop and adopt a GSP by January 31, 2022
- Update the plan every five years
- Demonstrate groundwater sustainability by 2042
Groundwater Sustainability Plan
A GSP is a road map for how local water managers will manage the subbasin’s groundwater resources now and into the future. The plan will identify a water budget for the subbasin, goals to achieve sustainability of the subbasin’s groundwater resources, and projects and actions to continue the reliability of the region’s groundwater supplies. The final GSP was submitted to the state in January 2022. The Tracy Subbasin is now in the GSP implementation phase.