News

New program aims to protect Monterey County groundwater SALINAS, Calif. — The Monterey County Water Resources Agency (MCWRA) and the Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency (SVBGSA) today announced they have extended the deadline of a new well registration program that was established to better understand and protect groundwater resources in the Salinas Valley. All [...]

Local groundwater National Groundwater Awareness Week is March 8-14 and is an opportunity to highlight the importance of groundwater. What is groundwater? It’s water that flows downward through soil and rock, supplying springs and wells. For SVWD customers, the entire District’s potable water supply relies on the groundwater pumped from the Santa Margarita Groundwater Basin. [...]

Deadline for free well registration is March 31 The Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency partnered with Monterey County Water Resources Agency to launch a new well registration program, aiming to increase knowledge about smaller wells in the Salinas Valley. All wells in the Salinas Valley must be registered. The State of California’s Sustainable Groundwater [...]

For the first time, thanks to mandates from the state’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), a local effort to collect reliable data on small, private wells in the Salinas Valley groundwater basin is underway. The effort, run by the Monterey County Water Resources Agency (MCWRA) in partnership with the Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency [...]

Applications for the Water Leadership Institute are due Thursday, Jan. 15. The 2026 Water Leadership Institute (WLI) in the Salinas Valley was recently highlighted in the County of Monterey’s news briefing, where organizers discussed the program’s goal to build leadership skills and knowledge about local groundwater decision-making in underrepresented communities. The Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater [...]

The Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency has created an online information library to share the agency’s resources and documents. The library brings reference materials together in a single location, including: Organization Structure Charts Agency Policies Audited Financials Groundwater Sustainability Plans Click here to access the library and read about other updates in the full [...]

The Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency, the Environmental Defense Fund and the Rural Community Assistance Corporation will co-host the 2026 Water Leadership Institute in the Salinas Valley. The Water Leadership Institute builds leadership skills and knowledge so people from underserved and underrepresented communities can take an active role in local water and groundwater decision-making. Through a [...]

When you schedule a free Water Efficiency Home Assessment, complimentary devices could be installed right in your home — all designed to help you save water, energy and money every day! The Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency is offering free water efficiency home assessments for eligible rural properties in northern Monterey County as part [...]

All well owners are asked to register by Jan. 31, 2026 SALINAS, Calif. — The Monterey County Water Resources Agency (MCWRA) and the Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency (SVBGSA) launched a new well registration program to better understand and protect groundwater resources in the Salinas Valley. All well owners are asked to register [...]

The Home Assessment offers no-cost indoor and outdoor water use evaluations for residential properties in select areas. The program identifies opportunities for residents to improve their water use efficiency. Homeowners can then choose to have select supplies purchased and installed, free of cost! As part of the Water Efficiency Pilot Program for Rural Residents (WEPP), [...]