After a couple hours of lively debate and passionate objections, Stanislaus County’s Water Advisory Committee endorsed an expanded groundwater ordinance Wednesday.
The 10-6 vote was merely a recommendation. Stanislaus’ Board of Supervisors will have the final say on the new water rules, and it’s expected to take up the controversial topic next month.
The technically worded proposal’s goal is to promote “sustainable groundwater management” by preventing pumping that causes “undesirable results.”
But most regions of Stanislaus would be exempt from having to comply with the sustainability regulations, including all properties inside any of the county’s irrigation districts or cities.
Those who want to drill new water wells outside those areas, however, would have to “demonstrate with substantial evidence” that their pumping would “not result in an unsustainable extraction of groundwater.”
That’s the clause that triggered the most dispute Wednesday. Several committee members objected to forcing farmers to prove their new wells would do no harm.
“Not knowing what evidence will be needed is a big deal,” warned Cooper Rossiter, whose family owns the Don Pedro Pump company in Turlock.
Starting Nov. 25, the proposal would require proof be presented before any new drilling permits could be issued for wells on unincorporated land outside irrigation district boundaries.
East side almond grower Louis Brichetto said such drilling restrictions will instantly drop farmland values, and he questioned whether they would violate landowners’ property rights.