Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The purpose these FAQs are to provide stakeholders and the community with easy access to clear, concise answers to common questions and concerns regarding groundwater sustainability planning and sustainable groundwater management in the Napa Valley Subbasin. FAQs are compiled from questions received by GSA staff, the Groundwater Sustainability Plan Advisory Committee (GSPAC), as well as FAQs prepared by other GSAs in California. The GSA staff and the consultant team are using their resources, expertise and professional judgment to prepare and organize the FAQs. 

The FAQs are dynamic. Questions may be combined, added and modified to create an approachable and informative knowledge base. Answers will be updated or improved upon over time as additional groundwater-related data are collected and as the Groundwater Sustainability Plan process progresses. Responses will refer, as appropriate, to published, authoritative sources and are meant to be well informed but should not be construed to be the unchanging, definitive answer to every single question.

  1. What is Sustainable Groundwater Management?
  2. What are undesirable results in the context of SGMA?
  3. What Groundwater Basins are located in Napa County?
  4. Why is the Napa Valley Subbasin subject to Sustainable Groundwater Management Act?
  5. Why aren’t the hillsides included? Aren’t they important too?
  6. What about the MST and Carneros, why aren’t they included? How will we know what’s going on in those areas/subbasins that are already having problems?
  1. Why did the County form the GSA?
  2. What authority does a GSA have?
  3. What does a GSA do?
  4. What is the legislative timeline for SGMA Implementation?
  5. Does the GSA regulate surface water?
  1. What is the GSPAC and what is its role?
  1. What is a GSP?
  2. What is the goal of the GSP?
  3. What are required elements of a GSP?
  4. How do the GSP and the Napa Valley Integrated Hydrologic Model account for future development?
  5. Does the water budget account for extractors of groundwater and surface water outside of the Subbasin?
  6. What is the timeline for GSP submittal?
  7. How is the GSP related to the Napa Valley Drought Contingency Plan?
  8. What is the study of Hennessey and Milliken watersheds and how does it relate to the GSP?
  1. What role does the State Water Project (SWP) play in the GSP?
  2. What did the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) recommend in their Municipal Service Review (MSR) and how does that affect the GSA?
  3. Would a single county-wide water agency solve the drought?
  4. What steps is City of Napa taking to limit the sale of trucked water to residents in the unincorporated area?
  1. How is the GSP related to the Napa Valley Drought Contingency Plan?
  2. What is the Annual Groundwater Report and what are its most recent findings?
  3. What is the recharge rate of the Napa Valley Sub-basin and what does that mean?
  4. What can I do to reduce water use?
  1. Will Domestic wells be required to have meters?
  2. Do domestic well users have to comply with SGMA?
  1. How will SGMA projects be evaluated for environmental impacts?
  1. Is groundwater quality currently being monitored?
  2. Is there a link between groundwater and surface water, and if so, how will it be managed?
  3. What is a water budget?
  4. What is irrigation system efficiency and what factors affect the efficiency?
  5. What is the current status of the Napa River for impairment under the Clean Water Act?
  6. How is climate change taken into account in considering and planning for groundwater sustainability?
  7. How does the groundwater basin affect flows within the Napa River?
  8. If groundwater conditions are so good, why did my well go dry?
  9. If depth to groundwater is so shallow, why do wells seem to be getting deeper to find water?
  10. Why are streams that used to flow in the summer now dry?
  11. Since surface water and groundwater are connected, isn’t groundwater pumping dewatering the Napa River and threatening our remaining native fish populations?
  12. Are you doing anything about well problems in the county like the Petra Dr / Soda Canyon area?
  1. Why is the GSA using surveys about the Draft GSP Sections?
  2. What is being done with the survey input?