To: Board of Directors, Sonoma County Water Agency
Department or Agency Name(s): Sonoma County Water Agency
Staff Name and Phone Number: Ann DuBay / 707-524-8378 and Marcus Trotta / 707-547-1978
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Services for Groundwater Sustainability Agencies
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Agreements with Groundwater Sustainability Agencies
A) Authorize Sonoma County Water Agency’s General Manager to execute an agreement with the Petaluma Valley Groundwater Sustainability Agency, in a form approved by County Counsel, for outreach services from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023, in the not-to-exceed amount of $34,000.
B) Authorize Sonoma County Water Agency’s General Manager to execute an agreement with the Santa Rosa Plain Groundwater Sustainability Agency, in a form approved by County Counsel, for outreach services from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023, in the not-to-exceed amount of $34,000.
C) Authorize Sonoma County Water Agency’s General Manager to execute an agreement with the Sonoma Valley Groundwater Sustainability Agency, in a form approved by County Counsel, for outreach services from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023, in the not-to-exceed amount of $34,000.
D) Authorize Sonoma County Water Agency’s General Manager to execute an agreement with the Petaluma Valley Groundwater Sustainability Agency, in a form approved by County Counsel, for technical services from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2024, in the not-to-exceed amount of $462,000.
E) Authorize Sonoma County Water Agency’s General Manager to execute an agreement with the Santa Rosa Plain Groundwater Sustainability Agency, in a form approved by County Counsel, for technical services from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2024, in the not-to-exceed amount of $841,500.
F) Authorize Sonoma County Water Agency’s General Manager to execute an agreement with the Sonoma Valley Groundwater Sustainability Agency, in a form approved by County Counsel, for technical services from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023, in the not-to-exceed amount of $198,000.
G) For the above agreements in which Sonoma County Water Agency is receiving funds for the work, authorize Sonoma County Water Agency’s General Manager to amend the agreement to extend the term, make modifications to the scope of work, and increase amount paid to Sonoma County Water Agency.
Subconsultant Services Agreement
H) Authorize Sonoma County Water Agency’s General Manager to execute an agreement with Errol L. Montgomery & Associates, in a form approved by County Counsel, for modeling and technical services support for groundwater sustainability plan implementation from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2024, in the not-to-exceed amount of $200,000.
I) Authorize Sonoma County Water Agency’s General Manager to amend the agreement with Errol L. Montgomery & Associates to extend the term, make modifications to the scope of work, and increase costs provided amendments do not cumulatively increase the total cost to Sonoma County Water Agency beyond $350,000.
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Executive Summary:
In compliance with state law, three groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs) were created in June 2017. This item requests authority for Sonoma County Water Agency (Sonoma Water) to continue providing outreach services for Sonoma Valley, Petaluma Valley, and Santa Rosa Plain GSAs from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023. This item would also authorize Sonoma Water to continue providing technical services from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023, for Sonoma Valley GSA, and from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2024, for Petaluma Valley and Santa Rosa Plain GSAs.
In addition, this item also requests authority for Sonoma Water to enter into an agreement with Errol L. Montgomery & Associates (Subconsultant) to provide Sonoma Water with modeling and technical services support related to implementation of the groundwater sustainability plans under the agreements with the GSAs. Sonoma Water’s services, including Subconsultant services, will be funded by the GSAs.
Discussion:
HISTORY OF ITEM/BACKGROUND
On April 25, 2017, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors and Sonoma Water Board of Directors authorized joint powers agreements for the formation of the GSAs. Staff from the eligible agencies, as defined by the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, cooperated to develop a governance structure for these agencies. Each of the three basins have a separate GSA with a board made up of elected or appointed board members from eligible agencies.
The GSAs were tasked with assessing the conditions in their basins and adopting locally based groundwater sustainability plans by January 31, 2022. Staffing for the GSAs was established through agreements with member entities or third parties. On April 25, 2017, the Sonoma Water Board of Directors approved one-year agreements for Sonoma Water to provide technical, monitoring, outreach, and grant administration services to the three GSAs.
In June 2018, all three GSA boards approved a no-cost extension of these agreements with Sonoma Water through October 31, 2018. The agreements were further amended to reflect the services associated with the receipt of $1 million grants in each basin (a total of $3 million for all three basins) received from California Department of Water Resource’s Sustainable Groundwater Planning Grant Program for Groundwater Sustainability Plans and Projects (The Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014 -Proposition 1) and to extend the term through June 30, 2022. Sonoma Water’s Board approved the amended agreements with the three GSAs in December 2018.
In March 2020, the GSAs were awarded an additional $1 million each through the California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate, Coast Protections and outdoor Access for All Act of 2018 (Proposition 68). The grant agreements between California Department of Water Resources and the GSAs were executed as amendments to the original Proposition 1 funded agreements in May 2020.
The current technical agreements were extended for one year (through June 30, 2023) with no additional cost or scope to complete grant administration tasks and monitoring wells construction. The new agreements will allow Sonoma Water to provide outreach and technical services for implementation of the recently adopted groundwater sustainability plans for the three GSAs.
SELECTION PROCESS FOR SUBCONSULTANT AGREEMENT
Subconsultant was selected from a list of qualified consultants developed from a competitive selection process. Attached is a memo that explains the competitive selection process.
Subconsultant was selected for modeling and technical services support for groundwater sustainability plan implementation because Subconsultant has considerable experience in this field, including performing updates and refinements to each of the three computer models utilized by the GSAs and Sonoma Water for developing and implementing the groundwater sustainability plans.
Sonoma Water may seek to amend or enter into subsequent agreement(s) with Board approval if required, relying upon this competitive selection process, after the preliminary or initial work is completed.
SERVICES TO BE PERFORMED BY SONOMA WATER
Outreach and Technical Services Agreements
Under the proposed agreements, Sonoma Water will continue to provide outreach support and technical services to comply with state program requirements for the groundwater basins. The scope and costs included in the proposed agreements will be paid by the Petaluma Valley, Santa Rosa Plain, and Sonoma Valley GSAs. The services included in the proposed agreements are related to groundwater sustainability plan implementation and monitoring in the three basins. The scope of services will be provided by a combination of Sonoma Water staff and Subconsultant to be retained by Sonoma Water under the agreement described below.
Major outreach tasks include updating and maintain the three GSA websites; monthly updates to stakeholders; social media content and campaign; development of public-facing materials, including fact sheets and press releases; and coordination of GSA community meetings.
Major technical services tasks vary by basin, but include stakeholder coordination on technical tasks; monitoring, evaluating, and reporting groundwater conditions; addressing data gaps; updating computer models; planning for and implementing projects; development of annual reports; and support for fee implementation and groundwater user registration program.
Subconsultant Service Agreement
Under the proposed agreement, Subconsultant will provide hydrogeologic technical support and computer modeling services to support the implementation of the groundwater sustainability plans.
The cost of services will not exceed $200,000. This agreement covers services rendered from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2024.
The cost of services for the proposed agreement will be reimbursed to Sonoma Water by the Petaluma Valley, Santa Rosa Plain, and Sonoma Valley GSAs.
The proposed agreement includes two options for Sonoma Water to extend the agreements for a period of one year each by providing written notice to Subconsultant thirty days in advance of the expiration date of the agreement and of the first extension option.
County of Sonoma Strategic Plan Alignment:
This item directly supports the County’s Five-year Strategic Plan and is aligned with the following pillar, goal, and objective.
Pillar: Climate Action and Resiliency
Goal: Goal 5: Maximize opportunities for mitigation of climate change and adaptation through land conservation work and land use policies
Objective: Objective 1: By 2025, update the County General Plan and other county/special district planning documents to incorporate policy language and identify areas within the County that have the potential to maximize carbon sequestration and provide opportunities.
Implementation of the groundwater sustainability plans will include an updated analysis of downscaled climate change scenarios which will allow the GSAs to assess and plan for potential future impacts. Routine consultation between the GSAs and Sonoma County on this and other topics, as required by the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, will inform Sonoma County’s strategies and potential policy options related to climate change and adaption for the General Plan update.
Sonoma Water Strategic Plan Alignment:
Water Supply and Transmission System, Goal 1: Protect drinking water supply and promote water-use efficiency.
The GSAs’ mission is to manage the groundwater supplies, which are relied upon by numerous stakeholders including Sonoma Water and its water contractors in the Sonoma Valley, Petaluma Valley, and Santa Rosa Plain groundwater basins to achieve sustainable groundwater conditions.
Prior Board Actions:
04/06/2021: Authorized the General Manager of Sonoma Water to amend agreements between Sonoma Water and GSAs to continue technical, outreach, and grant-writing services, and to negotiate and execute agreements with subconsultants for hydrogeologic support services.
12/04/2018: Authorized the General Manager of Sonoma Water to enter into agreements with GSAs to provide technical, outreach, and grant-writing services, and to negotiate and execute agreements with subconsultants for hydrogeologic support services.
04/25/2017: Approved the formation of GSAs and authorized the General Manager of Sonoma Water to enter into agreements with each GSA to provide technical, outreach, and grant-writing services.
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY 22-23 Adopted |
FY23-24 Projected |
FY 24-25 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
$822,500 |
$781,000 |
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Additional Appropriation Requested |
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Total Expenditures |
$822,500 |
$781,000 |
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Funding Sources |
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General Fund/WA GF |
$38,625 |
$31,550 |
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State/Federal |
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Fees/Other |
$783,875 |
$749,450 |
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Use of Fund Balance |
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Contingencies |
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Total Sources |
$822,500 |
$781,000 |
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Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
Budgeted amount of $822,500 is available from FY 2022/2023 appropriations for the Sonoma Water General Fund. Offsetting revenue in the amount of $783,875 will come from the Petaluma Valley, Santa Rosa Plain, and Sonoma Valley GSAs for the Subconsultant and 95% of Sonoma Water staff costs for outreach support and technical services. The remaining portion of Sonoma Water staff costs of $38,625 are funded under the Sonoma Water General Fund, which is funded by property taxes.
FY 2023/2024 appropriations will be budgeted in that fiscal year.
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Staffing Impacts: |
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Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
N/A
Attachments:
Attachment 1: Selection Memo
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None