Napa Valley groundwater agency authorizes new sustainability fees

The Napa County Groundwater Sustainability Agency (NCGSA) Board of Directors has authorized the imposition of groundwater-sustainability fees on users within the Napa Valley Subbasin. These fees are intended to fund the implementation of the approved Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP), which was developed in accordance with the state-mandated Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) of 2014.

The NCGSA was established by the Napa County Board of Supervisors in December 2019 to manage the subbasin. Following the submission of its GSP in January 2022, the plan received approval from the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) in January 2023. The agency aims to achieve groundwater sustainability by 2042. Previously, program costs were covered by the County’s general fund and approximately $2.8 million in DWR grant funding.