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Santa Barbara County Water Agency - 3-013 CUYAMA VALLEY
A. Applicant Information
Requesting Agency Information
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| Agency Name: | Santa Barbara County Water Agency | ||
| Address: | 130 E. Victoria Street, Ste #200 | ||
| City: | Santa Barbara | Zip: | 93101 |
| Work Phone: | (805) 568-3542 | Cell Phone: | |
| Email: | fcrease@cosbpw.net | Fax: | (805) 568-3444 |
| Revision Request Manager Information
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| Person Name: | Matt Naftaly | ||
| Address: | 3760 State Street | ||
| City: | Santa Barbara | Zip: | 93105 |
| Work Phone: | 805 308-8529 | Cell Phone: | |
| Email: | mnaftaly@dudek.com | Fax: | |
B. Description of Proposed Boundary Modification
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Boundary modification for the Cuyama Valley Groundwater Basin (3-13) in Santa Barbara and adjacent.
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- Scientific Internal
- Scientific External
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The requested modification would adjust boundaries to be coincident with those determined by a recent comprehensive study conducted by the United States Geologic Survey (USGS) and create the Chalk Mountain Groundwater Subbasin west of the Russell fault and within the existing Bulletin 118 boundary. The proposed modification would facilitate sustainable management of the basin because the area west of the fault has limited connectivity with the main part of the basin, which is in a state of significant overdraft. Those areas to be included in the subbasin to the west of the fault have historically had limited residential and agricultural activity. The main part of the basin is the subject area of the USGS study, which may be used to prepare a Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) for that area. In addition, successful management of the basin is a community issue requiring both participation by all of the relevant land and water users and an accurate understanding of the physical setting and geohydrology of the basin. Recognizing the true boundary of the basin and subbasin will allow for the development of meaningful groundwater management plans and participation by the appropriate parties. Recognition of the west part of the Cuyama Basin as a subbasin will allow for the independent evaluation of the priority level, resources, and land uses unique to that area.
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- 3-013 CUYAMA VALLEY
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The Chalk Mountain Subbasin
C. Initial Notification and Combination of Requests
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Yes
Local Agency Potential Basin(s)/Subbasin(s) Santa Barbara County Water Agency 3-013 CUYAMA VALLEY -
No
D. Required Documents for All Modifications
In review of CEQA, Santa Barbara County has made the determination that Basin Boundary adjustment does not constitute a "Project" under CEQA and is therefore not subject to CEQA. Given that the Basin Boundary adjustments do not meet the "Project" definition, there is no requirement to seek or make a finding for a Statutory or Categorical Exemption, nor provide any other CEQA treatment at all.
E. General Information
The Cuyama Valley is a rural agricultural area about 35 miles north of the City of Santa Barbara and is bounded by the Sierra Madre Mountains to the south and by the Caliente Range to the north. Although located within the coastal ranges of Southern California, the climate is similar to high desert due to the surrounding high mountain ranges. The Cuyama River drains the Valley with a surface water drainage area of 690 square miles of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Ventura and Kern Counties. Land surface elevations in the watershed vary from 800 feet above mean sea level near Twitchell Reservoir to over 8,000 feet above mean sea level at Mt. Pinos, and land surface elevations within the groundwater basin proper vary from around 1,950 feet to 3,600 feet above mean sea level. Average rainfall ranges from about 8 inches per year on the valley floor to 24 inches per year at the crest of the Sierra Madre Mountains. The Cuyama Valley is a down faulted block, or graben, that is bordered on the north by the Morales and Whiterock Faults and on the south by the South Cuyama and Ozena Faults. The eastern part of the central valley is underlain by a syncline whose strike is parallel to the elongation of the valley and plunges towards the northwest. The north limb of this fold is truncated against the Morales Fault (Singer and Swarzenski, 1970).
The proposed basin is bounded to the north by the Morales fault, the Whiterock fault, and the Caliente Range. It is bounded to the west by the Russell fault and to the southwest by the South Cuyama fault and the Sierra Madre Range. The eastern end of the basin lies within the Los Padres National Forest; the southern and eastern portions of the basin boundary generally follow the outlines of surface outcrops of Pliocene and younger lithologies, which are surrounded by Miocene and older consolidated rocks (Figure I1 in Section I).
The proposed Chalk Mountain Subbasin extends from the Russell fault on the east side to the westernmost point of the basin defined in Bulletin 118, which falls within Aliso Canyon in the Los Padres National Forest. It is bounded to the north and south by the La Panza and South Cuyama faults, respectively.
The definable bottom of both the basin and the proposed subbasin is the base of the Morales Formation, which is the oldest water-bearing formation present in the basin (see Section I for more information).
F. Notice and Consultation
See Attached
The requesting agency and consultant representatives have worked on water and groundwater related issues in the basin for multiple decades. Therefore, they are familiar with all of the interested local agencies. In addition, the requesting agency reviewed participant and stakeholder lists from multiple ongoing programs within basin including conservation programs, purveyor agency meetings, and groundwater basin studies. Finally, an internet search was conducted to identify any additional State or Federal agencies that may have an interest in the basin.
Each affected agency was contacted as part of all stakeholder outreach activities. Some attended the Basin boundary Modification public workshop. In addition, each was sent a letter (see Appendix F) explaining SGMA, the Basin Boundary Modification process in Cuyama, and specifically how to provide comments. In addition, some affected agencies attended the Cuyama Valley Community Association meetings and were contacted through this venue (see F4 below).
See Attachments
H. Local Support
All requests for boundary modification must include the following:
See attached
See attached
No opposition was received.
I. Hydrogeologic Conceptual Model
Requests for boundary modification, must include a document or text to a clearly defined hydrogeologic conceptual model demonstrating each of the following:
See Attached
J. Technical Studies for External Scientific Modifications
Requests for a scientific modification must include a document containing information that demonstrates the extent of the aquifer. Provide the following:
See Attached - Appendix K1 contains the same figures as Appendix J1.
See attached
K. Technical Studies for Internal Scientific Modifications
Requests for an internal scientific modification involving a hydrogeologic barrier must include a document or text that demonstrates the presence or absence of subsurface restrictions on lateral groundwater flow. Provide the following:
See Attached - Appendix K1 contains the same figures as Appendix J1.
See Attached
