Oct. 7 Evening Watershed Council Meeting.  
The next meeting of the Ventura River Watershed Council will be an evening meeting on Tuesday, October 7, 2014, from 6:00 to 8:30 pm, at the Oak View Community Center, 18 Valley Road, Oak View. We hold evening meetings in order to reach more of our stakeholders. Interested community members are encouraged to attend. Please help get the word out to those who may be interested.

We’ve got three items on the agenda. First, an overview will be provided of key sections of the draft watershed management plan: Findings, Campaigns, and the Project & Program List. Later this week I will send out a link to these these draft plan sections, which I will be posting to the Watershed Council’s website for public input.

Second, we’ll get an overview presentation from Gerhardt Hubner, manager with Ventura County Watershed Protection District, on the historic groundwater bills signed by the Governor on September 16, 2014. These bills include a requirement that groundwater “sustainability plans” be developed for many basins in California (see article below for more info).

Third, representatives from Ventura Water (Karen Waln and Ryan Kintz) and Casitas Municipal Water District (Ron Merckling) will discuss current water conservation and water use efficiency programs. (Golden State Water has also been invited.)

Here is the agenda.

Governor Signs Historic Groundwater Legislation
Three historic groundwater bills (SB1168, SB1319 and AB1739) were signed by Governor Jerry Brown on September 16, 2014, which create a framework for sustainable, local groundwater management for the first time in California history.

The bills establish a definition of sustainable groundwater management and require local agencies to adopt management plans for the state’s most important groundwater basins. The legislation prioritizes groundwater basins and sets a timeline for implementation:

• By 2017, local groundwater management agencies must be identified;
• By 2020, overdrafted groundwater basins must have sustainability plans;
• By 2022, other high and medium priority basins not currently in overdraft must have sustainability plans; and
• By 2040, all high and medium priority groundwater basins must achieve sustainability.

As indicated by the map below, the Upper Ventura River and Ojai Valley Groundwater Basins are considered medium priority basins. The Lower Ventura River Basin and the Upper Ojai Basin are low priority basins.

Watersheds Coalition of Ventura County Application for 2014 Drought Funding Recommended for Approval!!
The following is from Lynn Rodriguez, WCVC program manager.

“We are excited to announce that we have been recommended by the Department of Water Resources (DWR) for full funding for the seven projects in our 2014 Drought Solicitation Grant application. We scored 33 points out of a possible 37 points, the highest in our funding area which includes 4 IRWM Regions, and one of the highest in the State. Please see the attached table with the draft recommendations.

“Congratulations to the Greater LA and Upper Santa Clara River Watershed IRWM Regions for their recommendations for full funding as well. The Gateway IRWM Region was recommended for 59% funding. The total recommended funding for our funding area is $56.3 million. That leaves a balance of approximately $40 million for the final round of implementation grant funding.

“Thanks to the grant application team and the project proponents for their hard work in putting together this successful application. We have a perfect record so far!

“This is a draft recommendation. The final recommendation for funding are scheduled to be released by DWR in October.

“Congratulations everyone!”

Two projects from the Ventura River watershed are included in the application. These are: 1) Ojai Valley Land Conservancy’s project to remove the invasive, thirsty Arundo donax from lower San Antonio Creek, and 2) Casitas Municipal Water District’s project for an aeration system in the lake to protect water supplies from water quality threats should the lake’s water drop below levels that current equipment can handle.

Information on funding recommendations, proposal evaluations, instructions for submitting comments, and public comment meeting/open house can be viewed and downloaded at: www.water.ca.gov/irwm/grants/implementation.cfm.

Farm Bureau Hiring a Water Policy Specialist
The Farm Bureau of Ventura County is seeking applicants for the position of water policy specialist. Here is the job description and information.

Using Fences to Store Water?
The ability to think outside the box becomes much more important when options, or water, become scarce. Here is a fun article about the potential to use fences to store rainwater. Let’s get creative!