Well Fees Update

Dear Friends & Neighbors,

In April, I mentioned that a new fee is coming to well owners. This is to fund a program on groundwater sustainability that the state is requiring of all local jurisdictions with declining groundwater levels. The requirement is that all wells within the Salinas Valley groundwater basin need to be registered and that data used for monitoring the groundwater levels. The Board of Supervisors has resisted imposing this fee, particularly from the concerns that Supervisor Chris Lopez and I have expressed that the fee structure is unfair for smaller water users.

The new fees will cost $200-$300 per well annually. It is not just agricultural and municipal wells that are being charged, but smaller water systems and even individual well owners who have never faced regulation before. Despite the individual well owners and small water systems using less than 5% of the water, they are numerous and their inclusion will be funding half of this program. I believe this fee structure to be unfair. Unfortunately, state law requires that the fees be applied equally to each individual well and not by water use. I have been able to delay the implementation of these fees for another couple of months while searching for other solutions.

The fees are not the only problem. There will be increased regulatory responsibilities. Some well owners, primarily water systems and larger users, will be required to check their meters monthly and report.

Here is a breakdown of the current proposed fees (not all these fees apply to every well):

Initial wellhead registration: $160.16

Annual wellhead registration renewal: $21.86

Groundwater extraction reporting: $64.82

Monitoring groundwater levels: $117.68

Monitoring water quality: $73.92

What happens if the county does not engage in this program? That is the worst option. The state will step in and run things. The fees will likely be dramatically higher and community input reduced. If no alternative is found, I will reluctantly support these fees as the lesser of evils. But I will not give up looking for a fairer alternative.

As always, don't hesitate to reach out to my office for assistance. You can reach us at 831-755-5022 or district2@countyofmonterey.gov.

Sincerely,

Glenn Church

District 2 Supervisor