VOM Water District, City of Sonoma seek to salvage groundwater aquifer

The drought is getting serious out there. That’s the underlying message of the joint announcement from the Valley of the Moon Water District and the City of Sonoma, encouraging all well owners and well-water users to voluntarily reduce their use by 20 percent due to the drought.

The water reductions come on top of the standing request that water customers conserve 15 to 20 percent over last year’s usage. Since Sonoma Valley receives a portion of its water from existing wells, which tap groundwater aquifers, the districts are also asking consumers who use wells to cut their use.

“There has been a lot of important discussion and focus on reservoir levels in this current drought, but aquifer storage in the Sonoma Valley basin is also being impacted due to the lack of aquifer recharge after two historically dry years in a row,” says Matt Fullner, the Valley of the Moon Water District general manager.

“In past droughts, it was common to see ‘Private Well’ signs on green lawns,” said Fullner in the June 17 announcement. “This year we hope that well users will follow the same water reductions as district water customers and reduce non-essential water use.”

The request comes the day after the state Water Resources Control Board approved emergency regulations to halt Russian River diversions for up to 2,400 water-rights holders, including grape growers, ranchers, rural residents and even some municipal suppliers who could have their water rights suspended under the move.

Lakes Sonoma and Mendocino, the two lakes that feed into the Russian River system and supply most of the drinking, sanitation and firefighting water in Sonoma County, are at historic lows.

Further compounding the Russian River watershed problem is the fact that local well production and reliability for the Sonoma Valley basin is down compared to past years. This is because local aquifers rely on rain to recharge each year, and the region has experienced two dry years in a row.

District and city water customers have already been asked to conserve 15 to 20 percent over last year’s demands. The district and city are now asking that any groundwater well owner or user do the same, since water that is saved in the aquifer now will be available for drinking, sanitation and firefighting later in the year or next year if the drought persists.

“A significant number of businesses and households in Sonoma Valley rely on the aquifer for their water supply,” said Colleen Ferguson, City of Sonoma public works director. “We can’t stress enough how important water conservation is this year for everyone, including those who use groundwater. It is essential that we save this critical, shared resource.”

There are approximately 2,000 domestic, agricultural and public supply wells in the Sonoma Valley basin, including six operated by the City of Sonoma and six operated by the Valley of the Moon Water District.

A June 23 community meeting on Sonoma Valley basin groundwater conditions will address long-term management of the groundwater aquifer. The 5:30 p.m. webinar is hosted by the Sonoma Valley Groundwater Sustainability Agency. For more information on the meeting, and steps to maintain sustainable water reserves in the region, visit sonomavalleygroundwater.org.