Open space, Water resource
protection and Land use
The O.W.L. Foundation is a non-profit, 501(c)
3 California corporation made up of Sonoma County residents
who became alarmed at the dangerous water crisis growing in
Sonoma County. Numerous areas in the County have been declared "water
scarce"; other areas, previously considered "water
rich",
are now in groundwater overdraft.
People are lowering pumps in their
wells, digging new wells, and some people whose wells have
gone dry now truck water to their property.
The O.W.L. Foundation grew out of the South County Resource Protection Committee
(SCRPC) . This group successfully sued the
City of Rohnert Park by demonstrating in court that the City had insufficient
supplies of water for further expansion.
O.W.L. was created to address the
water crisis at the County level.
One of the most important actions that
County government can do is to
implement a Groundwater Management Plan (GMP) according
to the guidelines set forth in the California Water Code, AB
3030.
A GMP is simply a water "budget". Approximately 160-some
odd communities in California already have such plans. The Sonoma
County Grand Jury has recommended that the County and all
of the cities within it adopt such plans. All
government officials refused. Why is Sonoma
County on record with the Department of Water Resources as
having "no interest" in an AB 3030 Groundwater Management Plan? 
Ground Water Facts:
• 40% of California’s
water supply is ground water.
• Sonoma County leads the state with 40,000 domestic wells.
• 28 counties have ground water ordinances.
• As of 1999, 167 public water suppliers in California have ground water
management plans |
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Sonoma County needs a comprehensive groundwater management plan
immediately.
The O.W.L. Foundation
will not rest until groundwater management plans are
ubiquitous throughout Sonoma County.
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