AGENDA Addressing Current and Future Groundwater Management Challenges SUMMIT
2024 SGMA Implementation Summit
June 5-6, 2024 | The Kimpton Sawyer Hotel, Sacramento
DAY 1 – JUNE 5, 2024
7:30 AM – 8:30 AM
Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:30 AM – 9:15 AM
Summit Welcome/Overview
• Christy Kennedy, GRA President, Senior Hydrogeologist and Water Resources Engineer, Woodard & Curran
• John Woodling, Groundwater Committee Chair, ACWA
• Soren Nelson, ACWA Advocate
• Jim Blanke & Trevor Joseph, SGMA Summit Co-chairs
9:15 AM – 9:45 AM
Keynote Speaker – SGMA Regulatory Updates and Implementation Progress!
• Natalie Stork, SGMA Program Manager, State Water Resources Control Board
9:45 AM – 10:45 AM
Panel 1: Managing Water Quality Across Multiple Programs
So many programs and too little time, the GSAs have faced extraordinary challenges in bringing together and integrating a variety of water quality program regulations with SGMA as one of many. Hear from panelists representing different programs such as CV Salts and Irrigated Lands on how these are being leveraged by GSAs, direct stories from a County GSA implementing multiple programs, and what to expect in the future from ACWA’s Groundwater Quality Committee chair.
Moderator: Trevor Joseph, Regional Water Authority Panelists:
• Patrick Pulupa, Executive Officer - Central Valley RWQCB
• Parry Klassen, Executive Director - East San Joaquin Valley Water Collaborative
• Adam Hutchinson, ACWA WQ Committee, Recharge Planning Manger - Orange County Water District
• Sierra Ryan, Water Resources Manager - County of Santa Cruz
10:45 AM –11:15 AM
Networking Break (Lots of indoor and outdoor space to mingle, catch up and check out exhibitors.)
11:15 AM – 12:15 PM
Panel 2: Dealing with Depletions in Detail
Unseen and unmeasurable, depletions remain a challenge for GSAs and the state. Many GSAs are updating their plans to address recommended corrective actions associated with depletions and DWR is developing papers and guidance on depletions. This panel will focus on approaches to depletions, including characterizing undesirable results, monitoring, modeling, reporting, and managing.
Moderator: Jim Blanke, Woodard & Curran Panelists:
• Bryan Bondy, Upper Ventura River Groundwater Agency
• Marcus Trotta, Sonoma County Water Agency
• Craig Altare, California Department of Water Resources
• Adam Weinberg, California Department of Fish and Wildlife
12:15 PM – 1:15 PM
Lunch Break and Networking (Grab a delicious meal and catch up with friends.)
1:15 PM – 2:00 PM
Expert Roundtables: Explore Key Topics in a Discussion with Experts and Fellow Implementors
Intimate conversations with experts and fellow SGMA implementers! For this interactive session, attendees will sign up for small group facilitated discussions around a particular topic. Topic experts will give a brief overview of the topic and then facilitate a group discussion.
Topics & Panelists:
• Utilizing GAMA & Water Quality Datasets
Aaron Button, GAMA Program Manager, SWRCB
• Well Permitting or Well Inventories
Trey Driscoll, Principal Hydrogeologist, INTERA
• SMCs for New Wells
Lisa Porta, Principal Water Resources Engineer, Montgomery & Associates
• Innovative Recharge
Chad Taylor, Principal Hydrogeologist, Todd Groundwater
• Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems
Trevor Jones, Principal Hydrogeologist, Dudek
• Allocations/Trading/Markets
Brian Van Lienden, Senior Water Resources Engineer, Woodard & Curran
Bryan David, Associate, WestWater Research, LLC
• Monitoring and Enforcement of GSA Demand Management Policies
Savannah Tjaden/John Burns, Product Owner/Tech Services Lead, Environmental Science Associates
• Managed Aquifer Recharge
Brian Lockwood, General Manager, Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency
• Q&A with the SWRCB
Sarah Sugar, Sr. Environmental Scientist, SGMA, SWRCB
2:00 PM – 2:30 PM Networking Break
2:30 PM – 3:45 PM
What do we do about this “Sinking Feeling”?
Managing, Minimizing, and Mitigating for Subsidence in the Central Valley
One of the many intents of the SGMA legislature is to “avoid or minimize subsidence”. A decade into SGMA, subsidence in the Central Valley continues to threaten critical infrastructure and pose a challenge for achieving groundwater sustainability in the Valley. This panel will focus on on-going or potential impacts of subsidence on critical infrastructure (like the Friant Kern Canal) as well as the policies, projects, and management actions GSAs are undertaking to minimize and mitigate for these subsidence impacts while also managing groundwater/surface-water supplies and associated beneficial users in their basins. The panel consists of flash presentations by each of the panelists, followed by an interactive discussion between the panelists and the audience.
Moderator: Abhishek Singh, INTERA
Panelists:
• Johnny Amaral, Chief Operating Officer, Chief of External Affairs, Friant Water Authority
• Aaron Fukuda, General Manager, Tulare Irrigation District
• Eric Quinley, General Manager, Delano Earlimart Irrigation District
• Jeevan Muhar, General Manager, Arvin Edison Water Storage District
4:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Reception and Networking
This reception will provide an opportunity for attendees to network with others.
2024 SGMA Implementation Summit
June 5-6, 2024 | The Kimpton Sawyer Hotel, Sacramento
DAY 2 – JUNE 6, 2024
7:30 AM – 8:30 AM
Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:30 AM – 9:00 AM
Welcome/Overview
• Jim Blanke & Trevor Joseph, GRA Summit Co-chairs
9:00 AM – 10:30 AM
Getting to Yes in SGMA – Turning Challenges to Opportunities
Insights from legal, leadership, communications and technical specialists on best practices to overcome SGMA challenges.
Moderator: Dave Ceppos, Managing Senior Mediator, College of Continuing Education - Sacramento State University Panelists:
• Tara Bravo Mulally, Vice President, CV Strategies
• Jeremy N. Jungreis, Partner, Rutan and Tucker LLP
• Nathan A. Metcalf, Partner, Hanson Bridgett LLP
• Sarah Hardgrave, Deputy General Manager, Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency
• Mike Tietze, General Manager, East Turlock Subbasin GSA / Senior Engineering Hydrogeologist, Formation Environmental
10:30 AM – 10:45 AM
Networking Break (Lots of indoor and outdoor space to mingle, catch up and check out exhibitors.)
10:45 AM – 11:45 AM
SGMA Endpoints – GSP Implementation, Adjudication, or Both.
With many GSAs deep in the weeds of immediate compliance and technical analyses, this panel will bring us back to the big picture of where this is all going. The panel will discuss how adjudication may or may not fit into longterm groundwater management, the ability for SGMA to be an endpoint itself, and the pros and cons of different paths.
Moderator: Tom Henderson, Eastern MWD Panelists:
• Kevin O’Brien, Downey Brand
• Russ McGlothlin, O’Melveny
• Eric Garner, Best Best & Krieger
11:45 AM – 12:00 PM
Wrap Up and Thank You
• Jim Blanke & Trevor Joseph, SGMA Summit Co-chairs
This is YOUR Summit – come prepared to get the most out of it!
HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS
The Kimpton Sawyer Hotel 500 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
Make reservation by May 5th! The room block is filling quickly - we will provide alternative hotel options soon.
Book Your Room Today!
269.00 single/double rate. Situated in the heart of Downtown Commons (DOCO) and overlooking Golden 1 Center, Kimpton Sawyer Hotel is your front-row seat to Sacramento. An urban haven surrounded by great shopping, art galleries, and the citys renowned restaurants and farmers markets, Kimpton Sawyer embraces the areas natural and historic heritage with designs that feature organic textures, natural patterns, and abundant open-air spaces.
Go no further than the third floor to experience locally inspired food, beer and wine, and craft cocktail, overlooking the pooldeck and Golden 1 Center. A breath of fresh air in the center of a burgeoning city, Kimpton Sawyer is simply unparalleled among downtown Sacramento hotels.
You can also make a reservation by calling 877-6786255 and ask for SGMA Implementation Summit & Workshop.
Thank You!
EXHIBITORS & SPONSORS!
EXHIBITORS
LUNCH SPONSORS
BREAKFAST SPONSOR COFFEE SPONSOR
LANYARD SPONSOR
HAPPY HOUR SPONSORS