Written by: Robert McDonald, Executive Director of the Carpinteria Groundwater Sustainability Agency

Many of our agricultural customers have received letters discussing the Carpinteria Groundwater Sustainability Agency’s (CGSA’s) crop-based groundwater extraction estimates. We have received many follow-up letters and phone calls in response to the estimations with questions regarding the restructured fees. It is important to note that the CGSA fee is not a new fee, the methodology is being revised from a parcel acreage-based fee to a pumping-based fee. All properties overlying the Carpinteria Groundwater Basin (CGB) have been charged an acreage-based CGSA fee on their property tax statements for Fiscal Year 2023 (July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023) and Fiscal Year 2024 (July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024). This includes all single-family residences, condos, townhomes, commercial and industrial facilities, and local businesses in addition to agricultural properties above the basin.

The rationale behind the FY2023 and FY2024 acreage-based fees was that these properties were benefitting from groundwater, whether it be from a Carpinteria Valley Water District (CVWD) water meter, private well, or both. Using this method, all properties benefiting from groundwater or who had access to groundwater contributed to funding the Carpinteria Groundwater Sustainability Agency (CGSA) in an amount that was proportional to the size of their property. If CVWD supplied water or private well water was not utilized on the property, that property was eligible to file a request for review and possible determination of fee exemption.

Many property owners and members of the Groundwater Sustainability Plan Advisory Committee (GSPAC) encouraged the CGSA to move to a pumping-based fee rather than an acreage-based fee so that only those extracting groundwater, including the Carpinteria Valley Water District, would be charged proportionally based on the quantity of groundwater they extracted from the basin. Using this method, actual groundwater users help fund the projects, programs and monitoring required to meet Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) requirements and ensure that adequate groundwater is available to everyone in the future.

The process of moving to a pumping-based fee is multifaceted. So far, this involved examining and measuring crops using GIS software, calculating crop factors, summarizing known metered water use from CVWD for Fiscal Year 2022, calculating the estimated demand of the crops using these crop factors, and then subtracting the CVWD metered use to come up with a parcel’s estimated groundwater extraction. An aerial image was flown in summer of 2022 for numerous federal, state, and regional government entities, which was used for the crop acreage measurements and shown on the maps accompanying the extraction estimate letters.  Crop factors were calculated by looking at the known water use on agricultural properties without wells and one crop type. The average application of water used per acre for that particular crop during Fiscal Year 2022 was calculated, with outliers on both ends being removed.

These estimated groundwater extraction letters were sent out in October of 2023 to the owner of the property using mailing information provided by Santa Barbara County’s assessor’s office. If you did not receive a letter with an estimate, it could be because your property’s water demand (the amount of water calculated to water the crops identified on your parcel) did not exceed your CVWD metered use and no groundwater extraction was calculated. If you have any concerns regarding not receiving a letter you can reach out and confirm that no estimated extraction was calculated for your parcel or get a copy of the letter that was mailed out.

If you received a letter and do not have a well, do not share a well with a nearby property, or have crops that need to be corrected please respond in writing by the end of the calendar year. The intent of the fee is not to charge those who are not pumping groundwater so that the CGSA fee is only distributed amongst those who are. This analysis and your feedback regarding any crop or acreage corrections on your property is the first step in moving to groundwater pumping fees for Fiscal Year 2025 (July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025).  We will review individual requests as we receive them and will contact property owners if a site visit or additional information is required. For more information about the CGSA, please visit carpgsa.org and sign up for e-mail updates to stay up to date.