How is climate change taken into account in considering and planning for groundwater sustainability?

The Groundwater Sustainability Plan Advisory Committee (GSPAC) received a presentation from Paul Wells of the Department of Water Resources (DWR) on November 12, 2020 regarding SGMA requirements for addressing the effects of climate change in GSPs. Technical staff working on the GSP have separately coordinated with Tyler Hatch (a DWR Supervising Engineer and groundwater modeler) and Paul Wells in developing the approach to incorporating climate change into the Napa Valley Integrated Hydrologic Model and GSP for the Napa Valley Subbasin. 

Given uncertainty in future climate projections, climate change was evaluated using multiple future climate scenarios. The analysis relied on downscaled results from peer-reviewed global atmospheric circulation models to generate multiple sets of climactic (e.g. precipitation and potential evapotranspiration) and hydrologic (e.g. stream inflow) inputs for Napa Valley. The projections spanned a 50-year period, consistent with the requirements of the GSP Regulations. The future scenarios used in the model have been selected because they provide meaningful bounds on best-available climate projections for the North Bay. The future scenarios were chosen based on collaboration with the Pepperwood Preserve and U.S. Geological Survey as described in the presentation by Lisa Micheli at the November 12, 2020 GSPAC meeting. 

The results of the climate change analysis are included as part of the projected water budget presented in section 8 of the GSP.

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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?
13. Return to the Groundwater FAQ page