BECKWOURTH — This past Monday evening, 4/15, the Board of Directors for the Sierra Valley Groundwater Management District (SVGMD) met for their regularly scheduled monthly meeting at the Sierra Christian Church in Beckwourth. At the opening of the session, Jay Huebert, the District’s Meter Technician, presented the groundwater well readings he collected at the beginning of April, and his report was good news: the depth to water at most of the monitoring wells is doing a little better than last year.
Next, Debbie Spangler, the District’s liaison with the California Department of Water Resources (CDWR), was pleased to inform the Board the implementation grant for their Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) has been executed by CDWR. She also reported the installation of subsidence monitoring equipment is awaiting completion of an environmental review and an agreement for legal access to the site with the owner of the property where the monitor is slated to reside.
Following Spangler, a status report on the Smithneck Creek recharge project was provided by Laura Foglia, the Larry Walker and Associates consultant who played a key role in developing the GSP for the SVGMD. Currently, the major issue with the recharge project is the amount of noise caused by the pump being used to move water to the recharge test field. However, this problem is expected to be resolved by installing sound shields designed to direct the noise upwards, away from residents of Sierra Brooks.
Meanwhile, a more significant issue for the project was cited by Foglia: the water diversion permit for the recharge test is limited to periods when the creek is flowing at 90 percent or more of capacity and needs a downward revision to complete the test regime. On the positive side, however, good progress has been made towards securing a location for a monitoring well within the recharge test area.
Next, a lengthy discussion concerning draft revisions to the District’s ordinance for handling new water well permits took place. In the end, the Board decided that the replacement of a failed/destroyed is allowed, without an evaluation by the District, as long as the replacement well does not exceed the engineered pumping capacity of the incapacitated well and the replacement well is drilled within three hundred (300) feet of the original well. The Board will vote on the final version of the ordinance during their regular meeting in May.
As for the professional services agreements with Larry Walker & Associates, Stetson Engineers Inc., contract issues raised by Stetson Engineers were resolved during the meeting. Thus, once District Counsel concurs, through March 2026:
Larry Walker & Associates will have, not to exceed, $475K in GSP implementation funds and $475K in Plumas Watershed Forum money to use for completing projects designed to enhance the Sierra Valley’s aquifer;
For the same purposes, Stetson Engineers will have $1,267K in GSP funding and $105K from the Plumas Watershed Forum.
In the Board’s final action during the meeting, they authorized the purchase of two different pivot sprinkler systems for installation on the Roberti Ranch to facilitate a pilot irrigation efficiency test.
In the moment just prior to adjournment, Laura Foglia asked the Board if they would be interested in hearing a 3-hour presentation by a pair of irrigation specialists prior to the Board’s meeting on May 20. They were.