W.A.T.E.R. joined with a dozen other environmental groups in drafting a letter to the Department of Water Resources to press for better ground water protection in our area.  W.A.T.E.R. participates in a statewide NGO Groundwater Collaborative group that meets monthly to track implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) and to work on water issues throughout the State. Though currently our mountain communities are not subject to SGMA, the issues regulated by SGMA are relevant to our region, and participants in the NGO Groundwater Collaborative are some of the most well informed water protectors in the state.

After SGMA came out, it became clear that our Volcanic Watersheds and Groundwater Recharge areas are simply not protected by the state (or county) in any manner. Not only are we not subject to SGMA, the county doesn't track water exports, and we are not included on Bulletin 118 - the State's inventory of groundwater resources. To avoid depletion and pollution in the McCloud and Upper Sacramento watersheds, W.A.T.E.R., the Gateway Neighborhood Association, MSBEC and McCloud Watershed Council have been working to raise awareness about our immensely valuable and underappreciated region.

Jennifer Clary from cleanwater.org facilitated writing of a comment letter on behalf of multiple environmental organizations asking the Department of Water Resources to reinstate the Mount Shasta and Medicine Lake volcanic aquifers in Bulletin 118. You can see the letter to DWR HERE. The Department is interested in meeting further regarding these water protections, and so is Nancy Vogel from the Governor’s Watershed Portfolio team. We invite your feedback and will keep you updated.