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2025 URBAN WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN <br /> MAY 2026/FINAL DRAFT/CAROLLO <br /> 6.3.1.2 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act <br /> In 2014, the State of California adopted the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) to help <br /> manage its groundwater sustainably and limit adverse effects such as significant groundwater-level <br /> declines, land subsidence, and water quality degradation. SGMA requires all high- and medium-priority <br /> basins, as designated by DWR, be sustainably managed. DWR designated the Coastal Plain of OC Basin as <br /> a medium-priority basin, primarily due to heavy reliance on the OC Basin's groundwater as a source of <br /> water supply. Compliance with SGMA can be achieved in one of the following two ways (OCWD, 2023): <br /> 1. A Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) is formed, and a Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) is <br /> adopted. <br /> 2. Special Act Districts created by statute, such as OCWD, and other agencies may prepare and submit <br /> an Alternative to a GSP. <br /> The agencies within Basin 8-1, OCWD and La Habra, collaborated to submit the original Alternative to a <br /> GSP in 2017, titled the "Basin 8-1 Alternative"to meet SGMA compliance. Under SGMA, alternatives must <br /> undergo periodic review and updating at five-year intervals, analogous to GSP updates. OCWD prepared <br /> its first such periodic update, the 2022 update to the Basin 8-1 Alternative, and submitted it around <br /> January 2022. <br /> 6.3.1.3 Basin Production Percentage <br /> Background <br /> The OC Basin is not adjudicated and as such, pumping from the OC Basin is managed through a process <br /> that uses financial incentives to encourage groundwater producers to pump a sustainable amount of <br /> water.The framework for the financial incentives is based on establishing the BPP, the percentage of each <br /> Producer's total water supply that comes from groundwater pumped from the OC Basin. Groundwater <br /> production at or below the BPP is assessed by the Replenishment Assessment (RA).While there is no legal <br /> limit as to how much an agency pumps from the OC Basin,there is a financial disincentive to pump above <br /> the BPP.The BPP is set uniformly for all Producers by OCWD on an annual basis.Agencies that pump <br /> above the BPP are charged the RA plus the Basin Equity Assessment (BEA).The BEA is typically calculated <br /> so that the cost of groundwater production is equivalent to the cost of importing potable water supplies. <br /> This approach serves to discourage, but not eliminate, production above the BPP, and the BEA can be <br /> increased to discourage production above the BPP if necessary. <br /> The BPP is set based on groundwater conditions, availability of imported water supplies, and basin <br /> management objectives. The supplies available for recharge must be estimated for a given year. The <br /> supplies of recharge water that are estimated are: (1) Santa Ana River stormflow; (2) natural incidental <br /> recharge; (3) Santa Ana River baseflow; (4) GWRS supplies; and (5) other supplies such as imported water <br /> and recycled water purchased for the Alamitos Barrier.The BPP is a major factor in determining the cost of <br /> groundwater production from the OC Basin for that year. For the 2025-26 water year, OCWD is set to <br /> maintain a BPP of 85 percent. Under normal hydrologic conditions, groundwater production could reach <br /> approximately 315,000 AFY; however, OCWD anticipates groundwater production during 2025-26 will be <br /> approximately 297,000 AFY due to PFAS related impacts that continue to limit well availability across <br /> several producers. <br /> CITY OF SANTA ANA <br />