SR 08-14-2018 7C
City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: August 14, 2018
Agenda Item: 7.C
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Susan Cline, Director, Public Works, Office of Sustainability & the
Environment
Subject: Introduction and First Reading of an Ordinance Adding Chapter 7.18 to the
Santa Monica Municipal Code Relating to Sustainable Groundwater
Management and Prohibiting New Private Wells and Expansion of Private
Wells Unless and Until Permitted by a Groundwater Sustainability Plan
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council introduce for first reading an ordinance adding
Chapter 7.18 to the Santa Monica Municipal Code relating to sustainable groundwater
management and prohibiting new private wells and expansion of private wells unless
and until permitted by a Groundwater Sustainability Plan. (Attachment A).
Executive Summary
As a steward of the community’s future supply of safe and reliable water, the City of
Santa Monica’s water utility, which supplies all business and residential customers,
must comply with California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).
Along with other California water utilities, Santa Monica is drafting a Groundwater
Sustainability Plan (GSP) as required by the State law to ensure the long-term
sustainable and safe use of groundwater throughout the state. To protect the City’s
main water supply (groundwater aquifers) from overdraft, pollution and contamination,
the proposed ordinance, Chapter 7.18 Pertaining to Sustainable Groundwater
Management, would prohibit the installation of new private wells or the expansion of
existing private wells unless and until (i) a GSP is adopted, and (ii) the construction of
new wells or the expansion of existing wells is expressly authorized by the GSP.
Background
Throughout the State of California, unregulated water wells have contributed to the
overdraft of groundwater aquifers, the subsidence of land and the contamination and
pollution of public drinking water supplies. The City receives most of its drinking water
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from groundwater supplied from potable water production wells drawing from aquifer
sub-basins within the Santa Monica Groundwater Basin, the boundaries of which are
described in Bulletin 118 of the California Department of Water Resources
("Department") (Figure 1).
(Figure 1) Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, September 2007, Groundwater Assessment
Study. Report No. 1308, Chapter IV. Pgs. 5-1 to 5-12.
Sustainability Rights Ordinance
On April 9, 2013, the Santa Monica City Council adopted the Sustainability Rights
Ordinance, codified as Chapter 4.75 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code, which
expressly acknowledges that natural communities and ecosystems possess
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fundamental and inalienable rights to exist and flourish, and which authorizes residents
of the City to bring actions to protect these natural communities and ecosystems
(Attachment B).
Sustainable Groundwater Management Act
The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (Water Code sections 10720 et seq.)
(SGMA) was signed into law on September 16, 2014 by Governor Brown to advance
sustainable groundwater management in California. The legislation provides a
framework for local authorities to maintain the water supply without causing undesirable
effects such as the overdraft of groundwater. SGMA establishes a definition of
sustainable groundwater management, requires that local agencies develop
Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs) to sustainably manage groundwater
resources, and sets a timeline for implementation as follows:
June 30, 2017: Local Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSA) must be
formed.
January 31, 2020: Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs) must be completed
for critically overdrafted basins.
January 31, 2022: GSPs must be completed in all other high- and medium-
priority basins not currently in overdraft, including the Santa Monica Groundwater
Basin.
Twenty years after adoption of the GSP (2040 and 2042): All high- and medium-
priority groundwater basins must achieve sustainability.
A portion of the 50-square-mile Santa Monica Basin that underlies Santa Monica has
been designated by the Department as a "medium-priority" groundwater basin. Any
groundwater basin designated as medium-priority must be managed under a GSP
adopted by a local GSA and approved by the Department by January 31, 2022. The
GSP must be developed and implemented to achieve sustainability for any medium-
priority basin within 20 years after adoption of the GSP.
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The City of Santa Monica, City of Culver City, City of Beverly Hills, Los Angeles
Department of Water and Power, and the County of Los Angeles have formed a local
GSA in accordance with the SGMA. The SGMA allows the member agencies of a GSA
to enforce the requirements of SGMA within each member agency's jurisdiction.
The City receives most of its drinking water from groundwater supplied from potable
water production wells drawing from aquifer sub-basins within the Santa Monica
Groundwater Basin. The City’s aquifers must be protected against overdraft, pollution,
and contamination so that the City may continue to provide potable water and comply
with the health and welfare guidelines promulgated by the various state and federal
regulatory agencies.
Discussion
Currently, there is no regulation prohibiting the installation of new private residential and
commercial wells in Santa Monica. Permits for installation of new wells or expansion of
existing wells are issued by the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health’s
Environmental Health Division, not the City. Once a private well is permitted, there is no
monitoring or reporting of water usage from that well, nor is there any limitation or
regulation on the amount of water extracted. There is currently one private residential
well in Santa Monica.
If adopted, Chapter 7.18, pertaining to Sustainable Groundwater Management, would
effectuate the Sustainability Rights Ordinance and SGMA to protect the health, safety,
and general welfare of the City’s residents and natural communities and ecosystems by
ensuring that the City maintains control over its groundwater resources for the benefit of
the community, until such time as a Groundwater Sustainability Plan has been
developed and adopted in accordance with SGMA. Because the ordinance would only
prohibit installation of new private wells or well expansion, the ordinance would not
impact the City’s plans to achieve water self-sufficiency by eliminating reliance on the
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) supply in accordance with the
City’s Sustainable Water Master Plan. The City’s Sustainable Water Master Plan update
will be presented to Council on September 25, 2018.
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Financial Impact
There is no immediate financial impact or budget action necessary as a result of the
recommended action.
Prepared By: Shannon Parry, Sustainability Administrator
Approved
Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. April 9, 2013 Staff Report (Web Link)
B. Ordinance - Sustainable Groundwater Management - 08142018
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City Council Meeting: August 14, 2018 Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER _________ (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SANTA MONICA ADDING CHAPTER 7.18 TO THE SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL
CODE RELATING TO SUSTAINABLE GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT AND
PROHIBITING NEW PRIVATE WELLS UNLESS AND UNTIL PERMITTED BY A
GROUNDWATER SUSTAINABILITY PLAN
WHEREAS, the City Council finds and determines that it is in the best interest s of
the City of Santa Monica (“City”) to ensure sustainable groundwater management; and
WHEREAS, the City's findings and determinations are based upon the following:
A. Throughout the State of California unregulated water wells have contributed
to the overdraft of groundwater aquifers, the subsidence of land and the contamination
and pollution of public drinking water supplies.
B. The City receives the majority of its drinking water from groundwater
supplied from potable water production wells drawing from aquifer sub-basins within the
Santa Monica Groundwater Basin, the boundaries of which are described in Bulletin 118
of the California Department of Water Resources ("Department").
C. On several occasions since the 1990s, various City wells have been
contaminated causing the City to curtail potable water production and to construct multi -
million-dollar water treatment facilities to remove the contamination.
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D. These City wells and their aquifers must be protected against overdraft,
pollution and contamination so that the City may continue to provide potable water to its
citizens and comply with the health and welfare guidelines promulgated by the various
state and federal regulatory agencies.
E. California Constitution, Article X, Section 2, as well as California Water
Code section 100, prohibit the waste, unreasonable use, unreasonable method of use,
and unreasonable method of diversion of water.
F. The City suffers from recurring severe drought conditions. As a result, the
residents and businesses operating within the City live under an almost constant threat
of potable water shortages and mandatory water use reductions.
G. The City has adopted a water conservation plan to minimize the effect of
the shortage of water within the City of Santa Monica by significantly reducing the long-
and short-term consumption of water, thereby preserving available water for the future
requirements of the City, while minimizing the hardship caused to the general public to
the greatest extent possible; and
WHEREAS, on April 9, 2013, the Santa Monica City Council adopted the
Sustainability Rights Ordinance, codified as Chapter 4.75 of the Santa Monica Municipal
Code, which expressly acknowledges that natural communities and ecosystems possess
fundamental and inalienable rights to exist and flourish, and which authorizes residents
of the City to bring actions to protect these natural communities and ecosystems; and
WHEREAS, the State legislature enacted the Sustainable Groundwater
Management Act (Water Code sections 10720 et seq.) ("SGMA"), which became effective
on January 1, 2015; and
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WHEREAS, a portion of the 50-square mile Santa Monica Basin that underlies
Santa Monica has been designated by the Department as a "medium-priority"
groundwater basin; and
WHEREAS, any groundwater basin designated as medium-priority must be
managed under a groundwater sustainability plan ("GSP") adopted by a local
groundwater sustainability agency ("GSA") and approved by the Department, by January
31, 2022; and
WHEREAS, the GSP must be developed and implemented to achieve
sustainability for any medium-priority basin within twenty (20) years after adoption of the
GSP; and
WHEREAS, the City, City of Culver City, City of Beverly Hills, Los Angeles
Department of Water and Power, and the County of Los A ngeles have formed a local
GSA in accordance with SGMA; and
WHEREAS, SGMA allows the member agencies of a GSA to enforce the
requirements of SGMA within each member agency's jurisdiction; and
WHEREAS, this Sustainable Groundwater Management Ordinance is adopted to
effectuate the Sustainability Rights Ordinance and SGMA, and to protect the health,
safety, and general welfare of the residents of the City and its natural communities and
ecosystems by ensuring that groundwater extraction will not result in the wasteful,
unreasonable or non-beneficial use of groundwater extracted within the City, and that
water wells located within the City will not cause or contribute to the overdraft of the City's
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underlying aquifers or to their pollution or contamination, or lead to subsidence of land
within the City.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 7.18 is hereby added to read
as follows:
CHAPTER 7.18 –SUSTAINABLE GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT
7.18.010 Title.
This chapter is known as and may be cited as the "Sustainable Groundwater
Management Ordinance" of the City of Santa Monica.
7.18.020 Purpose.
The City Council finds and determines that it is in the best interests of the City to
manage groundwater resources within the City to protect the public health, safety, and
general welfare of City residents, further the goals and purposes of the Sustainability
Rights Ordinance (Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 4.75), and implement the
Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (California Water Code Sections 10720, et
seq.).
7.18.030 Definitions.
The terms used in this chapter shall have the following meanings:
A. "City" means City of Santa Monica.
B. “City well” means a well owned or operated by the City to provide water
supply to establishments served by the City’s water supply system.
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C. "Groundwater Sustainability Plan” means a plan adopted by a groundwater
sustainability agency for the Santa Monica Groundwater Basin and approved by the
Department of Water Resources in accordance with the Sustainable Groundwater
Management Act.
D. "Sustainable Groundwater Management Act" means Water Code sections
10720 et seq.
E. "Well” is defined in California Water Code section 13710 and any
subsequent amendments, supplements or revisions thereto, except that this definition
shall not include City wells.
7.18.040 Well Prohibition.
The installation of new wells or the expansion of existing wells is prohibited unless
and until (i) a Groundwater Sustainability Plan is adopted, and (ii) the construction of
new wells or the expansion of existing wells is expressly authorized by the Groundwater
Sustainability Plan .
SECTION 2. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this
Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any
court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining
portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed
this Ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not
declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion of the ordinance
would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 3. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage
of this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the official
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newspaper within fifteen (15) days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall become
effective thirty (30) days from its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_________________________
LANE DILG
City Attorney