groundwater

Developer of Cloverdale resort project seeks to assure city, public of adequate water supply

Amie Windsor, PRESS DEMOCRAT

One question has been dogging the backers of a proposed housing and resort project vying to transform Cloverdale’s long-stalled Alexander Valley Resort site and remake the look of Sonoma County’s northernmost city.

Will there be enough water?

Representatives for Esmeralda Land Company insist there is, citing reports from a consultant the Bay Area developer hired for their ambitious project, which calls for 605 homes — in a mix of apartments, town homes and single family homes — two hotels and two restaurants on 266 acres off Asti Road.

Devon Zuegel, the principal of Esmeralda will be on hand Wednesday at the Cloverdale City Council meeting to field questions focused on water demands tied to the project, which also includes a racquet club, two indoor pavilions, an outdoor amphitheater, retail space, light industrial facilities, a K-6 private school and a standalone office building.

It would also have more than 1.8 million square feet of landscaped area, including a dog park, community garden and playground. The project is conceptualized to be a walkable, bikeable community for multiple generations, according to Zuegel.

Read more at https://www.pressdemocrat.com/2025/12/09/esmeraldacloverdalewaterstudy/

 

Land Use, Water, , , ,

Officials raise alarm over growing groundwater shortage in Sonoma Valley

Isabel Beer, INDEX-TRIBUNE

Groundwater levels are falling by as much as eight feet per year in El Verano and eastern Sonoma Valley, officials say.

El Verano and eastern Sonoma Valley face worsening groundwater shortages, leading officials to designate those regions as Groundwater Sustainability Priority Areas requiring stronger conservation efforts.

The Sonoma Valley Groundwater Sustainability Agency made the announcement in June following years of observing the continuously declining water levels in the Valley’s deep aquifers, some of which have dropped by nearly 100 feet over the last decade. In the most severely impacted zones, groundwater levels are falling by as much as 8 feet per year, officials say.

“This is a decades-in-the-making issue that no single agency or solution can fix alone,” said Marcus Trotta, principal hydrogeologist at the Sonoma County Water Agency and plan manager for the Sonoma Valley Groundwater Sustainability Agency. “We need everyone’s help.”

Read more at https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/sonoma-valley-groundwater-shortage/

Water, , , ,

Op-Ed: Still time to settle county well ordinance dispute

Don McEnhill & Sean Bothwell, PRESS DEMOCRAT

It’s time to urge the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors to act with responsibility and foresight by resolving the ongoing dispute over the county’s well permitting ordinance. The stakes couldn’t be higher for the future of our environment, economy and way of life.

The people of Sonoma County rely on our elected officials to create policy that is not only transparent and fact-based but also ensures the long-term health of our precious resources, including our salmon populations.

Our organizations, Russian Riverkeeper and California Coastkeeper Alliance, are in court challenging an amended well ordinance passed in 2023. We’re suing because we believe the ordinance violates the Public Trust Doctrine and the California Environmental Quality Act.

The Sonoma County Superior Court agreed and ruled that the county must revise the ordinance to reflect the facts on the ground. Instead of taking the time to protect our resources and comply with state law, the county has decided to continue to waste taxpayer money fighting a legal battle. It’s time for the county to come to the table and work toward a solution that genuinely benefits everyone.

Read more at https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/opinion/sonoma-county-supervisors-well-drilling-lawsuit/

Water, Wildlife, , , , ,

Sonoma County Board of Supervisors moves to appeal ruling that county’s well ordinance violated environmental law

Emma Murphy, PRESS DEMOCRAT

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors will appeal a superior court judge’s ruling that the county violated state environmental law when revising a controversial ordinance governing wells and groundwater use.

The board’s decision is the latest evolution of the county’s yearslong legal battle with environmental advocates, which has thrown the county’s ability to issue groundwater well permits into limbo.

The county is currently issuing permits for nonemergency wells under a temporary court order pausing a separate court-ordered moratorium on well permitting.

The window for issuing permits will remain in place until the court decides whether to allow the county to continue permitting during the appeals process.

Last fall, Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Bradford DeMeo ordered the county to halt nonemergency well permitting until it can complete an environmental review of the ordinance in alignment with state law. The order was in addition to his determination that the county did not properly follow the state’s environmental review process.

Read more at https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/sonoma-county-groundwater-drilling-wells/

Water, Wildlife, , , , ,

Court order extends temporary window for Sonoma County to issue well permits

Emma Murphy, PRESS DEMOCRAT

Sonoma County has an extra few weeks to issue permits for nonemergency wells under a recent court order.

A judge ordered the county stop issuing nonemergency permits in December after ruling that the county had failed to follow state environmental requirements.

A second judge lifted the order temporarily, allowing permit applications through the end of February. He has now extended that window to March 27.

Well permitting is critical in county rural areas, which depend on groundwater for agriculture, residential use and new development.

Under the temporary reprieve, the county has issued 69 well permits, since Feb. 6, and there are an additional 24 in process, Tennis Wick, the director of the county permitting department confirmed Tuesday.

Read more at https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/sonoma-county-well-permits-groundwater-court-case/

Water, ,

Judge grants Sonoma County temporary window to issue well permits

Emma Murphy, PRESS DEMOCRAT

Sonoma County government has a two-week window to issue permits for non-emergency wells under a temporary stay granted by a Sonoma County Superior Court judge.

The county’s permitting department announced in a Friday press release that it resumed issuing permits in light of the reprieve. The department so far has issued 12 permits and have another 43 in process, said Tennis Wick, director of Permit Sonoma, the county’s planning and permitting department.

“If they’ve already submitted their application they can anticipate issuance of the well permit soon,” Wick said of applicants. “We will responsibly process new applications as we receive them.”

The temporary stay, which expires near the end of February, is the latest development in a yearslong legal fight centered on a county ordinance governing wells and groundwater use.

The county had to stop issuing permits for non-emergency wells last December after a judge determined the county violated state environmental law in its attempt to draft the controversial ordinance. The court ordered the county to halt non-emergency well-permitting until it can complete an environmental review of the ordinance in alignment with state law.

Read more at https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/sonoma-county-wells-groundwater-lawsuit/?ref=home-A1toptextstories

Water, ,

Sonoma County must suspend non-emergency well drilling under court order

Emma Murphy, PRESS DEMOCRAT

It is the latest development in a lengthy legal fight between the county and environmental groups who contend heavy groundwater pumping is doing harm to streams and aquatic wildlife. The county, those groups say, must conduct deeper study of those impacts and craft stronger regulations to safeguard natural resources that belong to the public.

Sonoma County has once again suspended permitting for non-emergency well drilling, this time under the order of a Sonoma County judge.

The order follows an August ruling in which Superior Court Judge Bradford DeMeo determined the county violated state environmental law in its attempt to draft a controversial ordinance governing wells and groundwater use.

In light of that finding, the county must halt non-emergency well-permitting until it can complete an environmental review of the ordinance in alignment with state law, the court ordered.

Read more at https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/sonoma-county-well-drilling-russian-river-court-order/?

Habitats, Water, Wildlife, , , ,
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