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The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors completed their vote to pass the proposed amendment to the Well Ordinance on 4/18/2023. With Supervisors Hopkins, Gore, and Rabbitt voting in favor of Staff recommendations, we believe the County has failed to take advantage of this great opportunity to protect our Public Trust Resources and take basic steps to protect our limited groundwaters in the face of climate change.
Many wells have been permitted without environmental impact analysis groundwater pumping has been allowed to negatively impact surface flows that are vital to salmon and steelhead survival. Wells on their own and cumulatively are known to dry up tributary creeks, like Mill Creek near Healdsburg, or turn them into a series of warm stagnant puddles. This habitat degradation presents a significant barrier to the recovery of our endangered species, especially as more demands are put on our water supplies and climate change presents new extremes. The County has a duty to protect natural resources like our salmon from these existing impacts and ensure that new wells are mitigated to the extent feasible so that these adverse impacts are not further exasperated.
Our efforts are indeed making an impact! We were able to help bring together over 30 different organizations—from environmental and BIPOC groups to residential and small farm interests—all in support of stronger measures to protect our local watershed from the negative impacts of unregulated groundwater extraction. Supervisors Gorin and Coursey understood the importance of these efforts and we thank them for working to put the health of our shared resources first. We also thank NOAA and CDFW representatives for their work and steadfast support for stronger measures that are protective of our environment.
We still have work to do! Unfortunately, because the adopted amendment largely allows the status quo to persist, our work is not yet done! We will continue to take every opportunity available to ensure our public trust resources are protected from unbridled groundwater extractions and that our groundwaters are managed sustainability for the benefit of the environment and all people who depend on it. As an ongoing effort, we thank all our members for their support as we continue this important work!