North Bay Water District

In the case of the North Bay Water District, all agriculturally designated parcels within the District will have special benefits conferred upon them by virtue of having direct and local influence over water supply, groundwater recharge, water used for frost protection, unspecified additional agriculture activities associated with water uses and the development of the GSP to achieve compliance with SGMA for the three basins identified within Sonoma County. These are distinct benefits related to a water use and therefore, the District.

 No parcels outside of the District, or portions of parcels lying outside the boundaries of the Basin will receive the benefits described herein and will therefore not be subject to the assessment.

Other special benefits of the district include:

• The opportunity to organize and assert agricultural input in the implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).
• The benefit of being within a District, the actions of addressing groundwater change and groundwater pumping and the time and effort of the District staff to maintain conformance with State regulations and laws will allow for representation of all lands within the District, particularly for SGMA purposes.
• The District benefit component is determined based upon the anticipated annual expenses of the District.
• The opportunity as a public agency to apply and receive State and Federal grant and loan funding for water management planning and improvements within the District; and
• The opportunity as a public agency to secure supplemental water to improve conditions within the District.
• The opportunity to manage and administer a Stationary Engine Replacement Program.  The North Bay Water District in partnership with the Sonoma County Farm Bureau (SCFB) created a program to assist operations in the Bay Area
• The opportunity to manage and administer the Safe Harbor Agreement for California Tiger Salamander Mitigation.
• The opportunity to manage and administer the Russian River Frost Protection Program.
• The opportunity to manage and administer future programs for the protection from flooding of agriculture lands.  These activities could include levee management and flood control activities to protect water quality and agriculture’s continued access to water.
• The opportunity to manage and administer unspecified programs that address current/future regulations and voluntary efforts to manage agriculture water use for the long-term benefit of agriculture.