Groundwater Management
Western Canal Water District (WCWD) has been a leader in groundwater management in concert with many Sacramento Valley water districts for over 20 years. WCWD adopted an AB 3030 plan (Ca Water Code § 10750-10756) March 21, 1995 to manage groundwater basin extraction, recharge, conveyance and quality. In October 2005 WCWD updated and adopted the existing Groundwater Management Plan pursuant to California Water code §10753 et seq., AB 3030 and SB 1938.
WCWD was instrumental in organizing the Butte Basin Water Users Association (BBWUA) in 1990. The BBWUA members included Butte County, CIty of Chico, WCWD, Richvale ID, Biggs-West Gridley WD, Butte WD and Butte-Sutter Basin area groundwater users. The BBWUA was instrumental in developing the Butte Basin Groundwater Model to simulate the historical period 1972-1992. This work is the foundation model for groundwater management in our area today. BBWUA was dissolved in 2017 as a result of the passage of SGMA and formation of the Northern Sacramento Valley Integrated Regional Water Management (NSVIRWM) Group and development of the NSV IRWMP.
Other partnerships
Butte County Water Advisory and Technical Water Advisory Committees
Glenn County Water Advisory Committee and Technical Water Advisory Committees
Lower Tuscan Investigation Study, Aquifer System Characterization Program 2001, and Feather River Agricultural Water Management Plan
SGMA - Sustainable Groundwater Management Act
bUTTE sUBBASIN gROUNDWATER aDVISORY bOARD
Western Canal Water District is one of eleven independent Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSA) who have signed a cooperation agreement to develop, adopt and implement a single Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) for the Butte Subbasin as outlined in Sustainability Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) enacted by the State of California in 2014. For more information of the Butte Subbasin Groundwater Advisory Board please visit their website here.
