The Vina Groundwater Sustainability Agency’s management plan is under review, and some of the parameters for groundwater management are a point of contention.
Some Chico residents want a more cautious plan — one they believe would better protect the aquifer in drought conditions, for example. They waited for up to four hours at the Oct. 6 City Council meeting for a chance to speak, but by then it was about 10 p.m., so Mayor Kasey Reynolds limited public comment to one minute for each speaker.
Councilmember Katie Hawley, who had agendized the item, apologized for the late hour to 11 members of the public who were in the queue to speak.
Some Chico residents worry that the groundwater management plan has set levels — the“measureable objective” and “minimum threshold” — that are too low to protect domestic wells and other groundwater resources.
“Why not establish levels that would alert us early on, so we can take necessary action before there is harm?” said public commenter Eric Nilsson. “The answer lies in who gains from this kind of management. The current thresholds allow the continued unlimited pumping of groundwater, 90% of which is used for agriculture.”
The Vina Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) has a board of directors with five members, including Councilmember Hawley, who represents the City of Chico.
Councilmember Tom van Overbeek said he wasn’t convinced there was a groundwater management problem. “I’m not seeing what the problem is,” van Overbeek said. “I mean, we have a healthy urban forest. The level of the aquifer is stable over time — in fact it’s 71 feet over the minimum threshold and more than 20 feet above the target. So why are we having this conversation?”
Marianne Paiva, a Chico resident who was raised on an almond farm, responded.
“I’m here to answer Councilmember van Overbeek’s question,” Paiva said. “The answer is that we are doing fine just right now, but the plan is to keep us down at the measurable objectives. And the measurable objectives are not sustainable and are not healthy for the aquifer.”
If groundwater levels dropped as far as minimum thresholds identified in the agency’s plan, Paiva said, “we’re Bakersfield.”
The city’s urban forest manager Richie Bamlet explained how Chico’s Valley Oak trees have become key players in tracking groundwater and aquifer health.
The oaks, explained Bamlet, are part of a groundwater-dependent ecosystem. The Valley Oak tree has roots that stretch wide like arms, tapping rainwater through the wetter months. But the deeper, sinker roots are what make the Valley Oaks dependent on groundwater.
“It’s actually one of the highest tree canopies really anywhere in the United States, probably one of the highest in California, so it’s quite an important resource for the residents of Chico,” Bamlet said.
Chico has 36% tree canopy coverage that contains over 34,000 publicly-owned street trees, with about three times that amount in private tree ownership. “We can analyze the groundwater dependent ecosystem based on the Valley Oaks that we have, because we know where they all are, thanks to the tree inventory that we did back in 2020,” Bamlet said.
Councilmember Mike O’Brien supported a motion to send a letter with recommendations to the Vina GSA with some reservations. “I think it is important for us to have this conversation, however, we’re not the water police,” he said.
Hawley asked for the letter of support to identify so-called “beneficial users.” Those beneficial users include people utilizing shallow agricultural wells, a small farm just out of city limits that sells produce at the farmer’s market and environmental and cultural users including the Mechoopda Tribe.
City staff presented other recommendations that may be included in the letter: the addition of two shallow monitoring sites; continued monitoring of groundwater conditions; and offering the City of Chico as a monitoring partner. The motion passed with the Council’s full approval.
The Vina GSA board meets at 5 p.m. Oct. 14 in the City Council Chambers.
Katherine Kihiczak is a California Local News fellow reporting for ChicoSol.