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On Thursday, August 21 from 5:30–7:30 PM, community members are invited to Beneath the Surface: 10 Years of Groundwater Basin Stewardship, a public meeting and resource workshop in Cotati focused on groundwater resilience in the Santa Rosa Plain and Petaluma Valley.

Hosted by the Petaluma Valley and Santa Rosa Plain Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs), the event will reflect on the past decade of local actions responding to California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). Experts will also highlight the valuable work underway to understand, protect, and strengthen our groundwater resources in the face of climate challenges and societal changes.

The meeting will offer an opportunity for community members to ask questions and talk directly with GSA staff and many partner agencies. During the workshop, several community-based organizations will be on hand to offer groundwater users practical strategies to implement on their own property to help support a sustainable groundwater future for our local area. 

Presentations will be in English, with Spanish language interpretation and bilingual materials provided.

RSVP for this free event and submit questions in advance:

Other initiatives are seeking ways to support groundwater recharge through aquifer storage and recovery, stormwater recharge strategies and expanding recycled water access. Lastly, programs supporting groundwater conservation and water use efficiency are in development in partnership with several local organizations. Each of these efforts contributes to a more resilient groundwater supply for residential, agricultural and commercial water needs, as well as support for a healthy environment for plants and animals.

Read about GSA Activities and Projects in Petaluma Valley, Santa Rosa Plain and Sonoma Valley

Pictured: Installation of Del Oro Park monitoring well, a vineyard after heavy rain, Sonoma Valley recycled water pipes

Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) at Del Oro Well is a pilot program that is part of Petaluma’s Integrated Water Master Plan to explore options to strengthen local water supplies in the face of drought and climate change. By storing excess water underground in wet years, ASR could help build a more reliable and climate-resilient system for our community and environment.

You may notice equipment and occasional noise near Sartori Dr. by Del Oro Park in Petaluma as pilot testing continues in phases from July to December.

What is ASR?
ASR stores treated drinking water underground during wet seasons and recovers it during dry periods. It’s a smart, low-impact way to save water without new dams or reservoirs.

How can I learn more?
The City of Petaluma in collaboration with the Petaluma Valley GSA is hosting an informal community drop-in event on Tuesday, August 26, from 3 to 5 p.m. at the aquifer storage and recovery project site at Del Oro Park/Well. Community members are invited to stop by at any time during the two hour window to learn about the project and our efforts to build regional and local drought resiliency.

City staff and GSA staff will be on site to answer questions, and informational posters will explain the work and the pilot project. While there will be no formal presentation, this is a great opportunity to see the progress in person.

More information is available on the City of Petaluma website here.

Are you interested in making your home or property more resilient to drought and flooding? The Land Resilience Partnership is expanding to the Santa Rosa Plain basin through our partnership with Daily Acts. After an application and in-person site assessment, our team will provide a site-specific concept design with a prioritized list of projects that can be implemented on your property to save water, mitigate flooding, and recharge groundwater. Qualifying properties may be eligible for future implementation assistance. Click HERE to learn more and apply to be considered for a site assessment. 

This summer, GSA Staff and our consultant team have been hard at work on the Well Aware Toolkit. The Toolkit will offer an inventory of water saving resources customized to maximize water use efficiency for your parcel. A sneak peek of the Toolkit is slated for the GSA Workshop on August 21st and is expected to go live towards the end of 2025. Keep an eye out for the official release in the next GSA newsletter!

Learn more about Well Aware

Join us for this collaborative presentation, which will include presenters from Sonoma County Resource Conservation District, Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District, the Community Alliance for Family Farmers and Sonoma Water along with our own GSA staff. The session will provide a brief overview of how participation in this program supports groundwater sustainability in our county. Get an update about some of the current groundwater basin conditions, take a tour of the Sonoma County Groundwater Data Dashboard, learn how the well monitoring sounder tool works and find out how to submit information to the online portal and more. If you already track water levels and are interested in submitting data, we will cover that too.

The formal presentation and Q&A will be from 5:00-6:00 pm. Immediately following the presentation, from 6:00-6:30, our staff will stay online for 30 minutes to help folks with personal questions about registration forms and get support for technical questions related to measuring your well water level. If you can’t attend the webinar live, a recording will be available on our website within a few days.

Funded by a grant from the California Department of Water Resources, the GSAs launched the Flow Smart Program to help us learn more about our wide variety of groundwater use. The Flow Smart Program partners with volunteer well owners to gather data on water use using well flow metering devices. Over time, the groundwater use data gathered from wells throughout our groundwater basins will improve the GSA’s understanding of groundwater extraction trends and refine our understanding of groundwater use by the people that live and work in the region. In addition, this program provides grant-funded professional installation of a well flow-metering device that allows well owners to track the amount of groundwater they are pumping – at no cost to the well owner.

To date, participants include 16 properties in Sonoma Valley, 17 in Santa Rosa Plain and 7 in Petaluma Valley. While 55 people initially applied for the program and underwent an inspection, these 40 properties have completed their enrollment and now await their flow-meter installation, slated to begin mid-September.

Learn more about Flow Smart

MEETING LOCATION

Petaluma Community Center
320 N. McDowell BLVD
Petaluma, CA

Advisory Committee Meetings

2025
Wed., Sept. 24, 4:00-6:00 PM

2026
Wed., Feb. 25, 4:00-6:00 PM
Wed., May 27, 4:00-6:00 PM

Board of Directors Meetings

2025
Thurs, Oct. 23, 4:00-6:00 PM

2026
Thurs., Jan. 22, 4:00-6:00 PM
Thurs., Mar. 26, 4:00-6:00 PM
Thurs., June 25, 4:00-6:00 PM

MEETING LOCATION

City of Santa Rosa Utilities
Field Office 
35 Stony Point Road
Santa Rosa, CA

Advisory Committee Meetings

2025
Sept. 8, 3:00 - 5:30 PM 
Special Location: Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation, 900 Sanford Rd, Santa Rosa, 95401

2026
Feb 9, 2026 3:00-5:30 PM
May 11, 2026, 3:00-5:30 PM

Board of Directors Meetings

2025
Oct 30, 1:00 - 3:30 PM

2026
Jan 15, 1:00 - 3:30 PM
March 12, 1:00 - 3:30 PM
June 11, 1:00 - 3:30 PM

MEETING LOCATION Valley of the Moon Water District
19039 Bay Street
Sonoma, CA

Advisory Committee Meetings

2025
Tues., Sept. 16, 3:00-5:30 p.m.
Tues., Dec. 16, 3:00-5:30 p.m.

2026
Tues., Feb. 17, 3:00-5:30 PM
Tues., May 19, 3:00-5:30 PM

Board of Directors Meetings

2025
Mon., Oct. 27, 4:00-6:00 p.m.

2026
Mon., Jan. 26, 4:00-6:00 PM
Mon., Mar. 23, 4:00-6:00 PM
Mon., Jun. 22, 4:00-6:00 PM

The rate adopted for 2025-2026, listed in the table below for each GSA, is calculated for per-acre-foot of groundwater pumped annually with actual rates determined by estimated extraction by user type. Rural residents, who use groundwater for one home, garden and landscaping are estimated to use 0.5 acre feet of groundwater annually. The County of Sonoma has committed to providing a contribution to equalize the fee level for all non-municipal groundwater users to be the same in all three Sonoma County basins for the next two years (pending annual County budget adoption), so the updated fee will match the rate charged by the Santa Rosa Plain GSAFees are collected via a parcel owner’s property tax bill.

A 2.4% inflationary increase to the 2024 adopted fee was considered by the GSA Board and adopted for each of the three GSAs in June 2025.