Water management structure receives key endorsements
The Blue Ribbon Committee for the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin Plan (BRC) announced its endorsement recently for the management structure for the proposed Paso Robles Basin Water District. The Paso Robles Agriculture Alliance for Groundwater Solutions (PRAAGS), a group of agricultural landowners and the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin Overliers for Water Equity (PRO Water Equity), a group of rural homeowners, presented the management structure, which the two groups formalized on Jan. 6.
The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors first appointed the BRC in 2012 to work with stakeholders and oversee the implementation of the Groundwater Management Plan. Committee members, which hold public meetings each month, include representatives of municipalities, agriculture and rural residents from throughout the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin region.
On Thursday, January 16, the BRC approved a formal recommendation to the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors to include an item in the County Legislative Platform that is consistent with and supportive of the proposed management structure. “This action shows stakeholders’ commitment to local solutions for managing and balancing our groundwater basin,” said Sue Luft, president of PRO Water Equity and owner of 10 acres of land overlying the Basin. “It’s an important step and an important indicator of the tenor in the community.”
On Sunday, Jan. 19, the San Luis Obispo Tribune editorial board published an article supporting the management plan, titled “Basin Management Plan Deserves Leader’s Support.”
“We strongly urge the Board of Supervisors to sign off on the plan, and Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian to move it forward by sponsoring legislation needed to create the district,” the editorial states.
PRAAGS and PRO Water Equity’s joint agreement proposes a board of directors made up of nine elected members to govern the water district. Under the management structure, residents in the district would elect three members by popular vote, regardless of acreage owned.
Landowners would then elect the remaining six members according to acreage: two representing those owning fewer than 40 acres, two for those owning between 40 and 400 acres and two for those owning 400 acres or more. Future elections would be based on the same parameters.
“We are extremely encouraged by the recent progress that has been made,” said Chairman of PRAAGS Jerry Reaugh, who also owns Sereno Vista Vineyard. “We’ve gone from splintered factions without a plan for balancing or managing the basin to a cordial, collaborative community on its way to a prosperous, organized future because we’ll have a reliable system for local water management.”
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