TO: Technical Advisory Group for the Napa County Groundwater Sustainability Agency
FROM: Brian D. Bordona, Director of Planning, Building and Environmental Services
REPORT BY: Jamison Crosby, Natural Resources Conservation Manager
SUBJECT: Sustainable Conservation – Groundwater Recharge Guide for Vineyards
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RECOMMENDATION
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Wendy Rash, Project Director of Water for the Future team at Sustainable Conservation, will provide an overview of their publication, A Groundwater Recharge Guide for Vineyards, prepared by Sustainable Conservation and the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance (June 2026), to help winegrape growers evaluate, plan, and implement on-farm groundwater recharge to contribute to regional groundwater sustainability.
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Staff introduces.
Questions and answers with the TAG.
Public comments.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
In June 2026, Sustainable Conservation and the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance (CSWA) released A Groundwater Recharge Guide for Vineyards to help winegrape growers evaluate, plan, and implement on-farm groundwater recharge to contribute to regional groundwater sustainability. As California’s wine regions face growing groundwater pumping regulations under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), the guide equips growers with science-backed methods to plan and implement Flood-Managed Aquifer Recharge (Flood-MAR) or other MAR approaches safely and effectively on their farms.
Vineyards are often strong candidates for on-farm recharge. They typically use less nitrogen fertilizer than many other crops, reducing groundwater contamination risk, and excess surface water for recharge is typically available in winter — when vines are dormant and can tolerate periodic flooding. The guide pairs Sustainable Conservation’s expertise in on-farm recharge with CSWA’s knowledge of sustainable winegrowing practices, making it the first resource of its kind designed specifically for California’s winegrape industry...
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