OCWD Management Area
SECTION 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Orange County Water District (OCWD) is a special district formed in 1933 by an act of the California Legislature , the “OCWD Act”. OCWD manages the groundwater basin that underlies north and central Orange County pursuant to the OCWD Act. Water produced from the basin is the primary water supply for approximately 2.5 million residents living within the service area boundaries. The mission of OCWD includes sustainably managing the Orange County Groundwater Basin, Basin 8-1, over the long-term. Additionally, as a special act district listed in Water Code § 10723 (c)(1), OCWD is the exclusive local agency within its jurisdictional boundaries with powers to comply with the Sustainable Groundwater management Act (SGMA) via a groundwater sustainability plan (“GSP”) or via an Alternative prepared in accordance with Water Code § 10733.6. The OCWD Management Area includes 89 percent of the area designated by the Department of Water Resources (DWR) as Basin 8- 1, the “Coastal Plain of Orange County Groundwater Basin” in Bulletin 118 (DWR, 2003). The OCWD Management Area includes the same land area as the OCWD service area within Basin 8-1 except for a small 6.7-square mile area in the northeast corner of the basin that is part of the Santa Ana Canyon Management Area. The boundaries of Basin 8-1, the OCWD service area and the OCWD Management Area are shown in Figure 1-1. The agencies within Basin 8-1 collaborated to prepare and submit an Alternative to a Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP). In accordance with Water Code §10733.6(b)(3)(c), the Basin 8-1 Alternative presented an analysis of basin conditions that demonstrated that Basin 8- 1 had operated within its sustainable yield over a period of at least 10 years. The Alternative was submitted to DWR on December 22, 2016. On July 17, 2019, DWR determined that the Alternative satisfied SGMA objectives and was therefore approved. Approved alternatives are required to submit annual reports to DWR on April 1 of each year. Annual reports for Basin 8-1 were submitted to DWR as follows:
• Water Year 2016-17, submitted on March 29, 2018 • Water Year 2017-18, submitted on March 29, 2019 • Water Year 2018-19, submitted on March 30, 2020 • Water Year 2019-20, submitted on March 30, 2021 *Note, the DWR Water Year extends from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.
According to Water Code § 10733.8, “ At least every five years after initial submission of a plan pursuant to Section 10733.4, the department shall review any available groundwater sustainability plan or alternative submitted in accordance with Section 10733.6, and the implementation of the corresponding groundwater sustainability program for consistency with this part, including achieving the sustainability goal. The department shall issue an assessment for each basin for which a plan or alternative has been submitted in accordance with this chapter, with an emphasis on assessing progress in achieving the sustainability goal within the
BASIN 8-1 ALTERNATIVE 2022 UPDATE
Executive Summary 1-1
Appendix F - 67
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