Monday, March 31, 2008 : 1:20 p.m.

Citizen-Based Ground Water Resources Planning at the Basin Level: The Sonoma Valley Groundwater Management Program

James Jasperse, PE, PG1, Timothy K. Parker, PG, CEG, CHG2, Michelle Yeh2, Gina Bartlett3 and William Keene1, (1)Sonoma County Water Agency, (2)Schlumberger Water Services, (3)Center for Collaborative Policy

Groundwater management that emphasizes input from the local community through citizen-based stakeholder groups requires combining scientific information and education of stakeholders to develop a management plan that makes sense from both a technical and community perspective.  This effort requires patience, diplomacy, and adept human relations to succeed.  However, the potential for implementation of effective, non-regulatory groundwater management based on local citizen input provides the incentive and real solution to ensure the community’s water resource goals and objectives are met as opposed to “top down” solutions that lack community support. 

A groundwater management plan (Plan) was developed for the Sonoma Valley, located in Sonoma County, California, in coordination with the Sonoma County Water Agency, the Valley of the Moon Water District, and City of Sonoma. The Plan was developed under a collaborative and cooperative process that included a broad range of stakeholders who live in the basin, who represented the community's views in the form of a Basin Advisory Panel (BAP), and Technical Working Group during a series of meetings over a 14 month period.  Prior to embarking on the development of the groundwater management plan, the Center of Collaborative Policy (CCP) interviewed a group of stakeholders to identify concerns and develop a process for stakeholders to work together for the development of a groundwater management plan.  Stakeholders included representatives from agriculture, economic interests, residential groundwater users, environmental local governments/public agencies, and water purveyors.  Throughout the development of the plan, the CCP mediated the stakeholder meetings, providing reasonable opportunity for input from all stakeholders, resulting in a comprehensive, collaboratively developed plan with broad local citizen support. The groundwater management plan includes basin management objectives to address groundwater levels, groundwater quality, surface water-groundwater interaction, land subsidence and seawater intrusion, and emphasizes groundwater recharge, protection, and sustainability in groundwater management program implementation.

James Jasperse, PE, PG, Sonoma County Water Agency Jay Jasperse is Chief Deputy Engineer of Energy and Resource Planning for the Sonoma County Water Agency, California. Mr. Jasperse is a registered civil engineer and has been with the Agency since 1998. Prior to joining the Agency, he worked as an environmental engineering consultant specializing in groundwater characterization and design of remediation systems. Mr. Jasperse received a Bachelor of Science degree in geology from the University of California at Davis and master's degree in civil engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. Mr. Jasperse is an active member of the National Groundwater Association and American Chemical Society.

Timothy K. Parker, PG, CEG, CHG, Schlumberger Water Services Mr. Parker is a Principal Hydrogeologist with Schlumberger Water Services in Sacramento where he is working to assist adapting Schlumberger’s advanced oilfield subsurface characterization tools and technologies to the groundwater industry . Mr. Parker is currently a Director, Legislative Committee Chair, and Past President of the Groundwater Resources Association of California (GRA); Director of the American Ground Water Trust; and serves as a Director on the AGWSE Division, NGWA. He is a California Professional Geologist, Certified Engineering Geologist, and Certified Hydrogeologist. Mr. Parker co-authored the book “California Groundwater Management’, second edition published by GRA in 2005.

Michelle Yeh, Schlumberger Water Services Michelle Yeh joined Schlumberger Water Services four years ago and has been working as a hydrogeologist in the characterization and simulation of groundwater aquifers. Ms. Yeh is experienced in the use of traditional groundwater modeling software as well as modeling tools newly adapted from the oilfield industry. Prior to joining Schlumberger Water Services, Ms. Yeh worked with an environmental consulting firm providing environmental and compliance services for industrial facilities. She holds an M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering.


2008 Ground Water Summit