Grand jury releases report on Paso Robles Water Basin
A map of the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin. Image from the City of Paso Robles.
Grand jury report titled, ‘Can one wet year wash away the Paso Robles Basin’s water worries?’
– This week, the San Luis Obispo County Grand Jury released a report on the impact of recent rainfall on the Paso Robles Water Basin.
Click here to view the full report.
In drier and drought-prone areas of California, access to water has historically been an area of concern. Over the years, despite some outside supplementation of water, agricultural demands and the growing population have dramatically reduced many of California’s groundwater supplies.
In response to the need for long-term access to water, in 2014 the state enacted the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) to help protect groundwater resources. This act prioritized basins of concern and required the Paso Basin to create a Groundwater Sustainability Plan or GSP. The grand jury says it wanted to review the Paso Basin GSP to ensure it is on track to create a sustainable groundwater basin.
Further, with 236 rural residential wells having gone dry in the period of 2013 to 2022, would the GSP implementation be robust and timely enough to protect users of the basin from further dry wells?
The 2022-23 grand jury started its term during the summer of 2022, when portions of our county were in critical drought conditions. Because water supply sustainability is a topic of widespread interest, the grand jury initiated a review of the Paso Basin GSP to determine whether the GSP is on track to provide sustainable groundwater for future generations.
Record rains at the beginning of 2023 have increased reserves and perhaps reduced public concern. Yet the grand jury’s initial review of the GSP and annual reports showed a need to complete the process of investigation and bring a report forward for public awareness and swifter action toward Paso Basin groundwater sustainability.
The full transcripts of grand jury reports are at https://www.slo.courts.ca.gov/general- information/jury-service/grand-jury. This website provides information on how to apply to become a Grand Juror. It also has the Citizen Complaint Form for use by the public to submit complaints to the Grand Jury regarding county issues.
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