Modoc County Municipal Code Ch. 13.08 Groundwater Pumping

The board of supervisors does find and declare that the protection of groundwater within the county is of major concern to the residents of the county for the protection of their health, welfare and safety. The board further declares that the beneficial use of groundwater is of critical importance to the economy of the county.

(Ord. 255 § 1, 1978)

The following definitions shall govern the interpretation of this chapter:

A. "Aquifer" means a geologic formation that stores, transmits and yields significant quantities of water to wells and springs.

B. "Groundwater basin area" means an area overlying a geologic formation or interconnected series of geologic formations which store, transmit and yield significant quantities of water to wells and springs. For purposes of this chapter, the groundwater basin areas in the county shall be deemed to be coextensive with the Surprise Valley watershed, the Goose Lake watershed, the Tulelake Basin, the upper Pit River watershed to the Canby Bridge, and the lower Pit River watershed to the southern end of Big Valley.

C. "Overdraft" means the condition of a groundwater basin area where the amount of water withdrawn by pumping exceeds the amount of water replenishing the basin over a period of time; also, as the point at which extractions from the basin area exceed its safe yield plus any temporary surplus.

D. "Recharge" means flow to groundwater storage from precipitation, infiltration from streams, irrigation, spreading basins, and other sources of water.

E. "Safe yield" means the maximum quantity of water which can be withdrawn annually from a groundwater supply under a given set of conditions without causing an undesirable result. The phrase "undesirable result" is understood to refer to a gradual lowering of the groundwater levels resulting eventually in depletion of the supply.

F. "Specific capacity" means the volume of water pumped from a well in gallons per minute per foot of drawdown.

G. "Spreading water" means discharging native or imported water to a permeable area for the purpose of allowing it to percolate to the zone of saturation. Spreading, artificial recharge, and replenishment all refer to operations used to place water in a groundwater basin.

H. "Transmissivity" means the rate of flow of water through an aquifer.

I. "Usable storage capacity" means the quantity of groundwater of acceptable quality that can be economically withdrawn from storage.

J. "Water table" means the surface where groundwater is encountered in a well in an unconfined aquifer.

K. "Zone of saturation" means the area below the water table in which the soil is completely saturated with ground-water.

(Ord. 255 <2, 1978)

In Modoc County, it is unlawful to pump groundwater of any nature or description, or for a property owner to allow such pumping on his land, in order to convey it outside the groundwater basin area in which it is pumped without first obtaining a permit.

(Ord. 255-A <1, 1987: Ord. 255 <3, 1978)

A. An application for a permit as required in Section 13.08.030 shall be filed with the county department of public works, and a request for environmental review thereof shall be filed as required by county guidelines. Upon receipt of the permit application, the department of public works shall review the application with affected county departments. The department of public works shall also review the application with the State Department of Water Resources and the Regional Water Quality Control Board.

B. After obtaining the comments of the affected county departments and the affected state agencies, the department of public works shall file a written report, accompanied by the environmental review committee's review, with the board of supervisors, with a copy to the applicant. Upon receipt of such report, the board of supervisors shall set a public hearing on the issuance of the permit. The hearing shall be noticed pursuant to Government Code Section 6061, and the hearing may not be held within fifteen days of the time that the board of supervisors receives the report from the department of public works.

(Ord. 255 <4, 1978)

At the hearing, the applicant shall be entitled to present any relevant evidence to his application. The board may request any additional geologic studies it deems necessary to obtain information required for its decision. The cost of such studies shall be borne by the applicant. The board shall also hear relevant evidence presented by the public, and county staff. The board shall consider all effects the proposed permit would have on the affected groundwater basins, and relative thereto it shall consider, among other things, recharge, safe yield, specific capacity, spreading water, transmissivity, usable storage capacity, water table, and zone of saturation.

(Ord. 255 <5, 1978)

A. The permit referred to in Section 13.08.030 may only be granted where the board, after having reviewed the aspects referred to in Section 13.08.050, finds and determines that the permit:

1. Will not bring about an overdraft;

2. Will not adversely affect transmissivity within the aquifer; and

3. Will not adversely affect the water table.

B. The decision of the board of supervisors shall be final. The board shall impose such conditions upon the permit so as to prohibit overdraft, and may impose conditions that it deems necessary for the health, safety and welfare of the people of the county.

(Ord. 255 <6, 1978)

The permit granted pursuant to Section 13.08.060 shall be subject to an annual staff review. In the event the department of public works determines that an overdraft is occurring because of the conditions present, the permit may be amended by order of the department of public works to decrease the amount of water allowed to be pumped. Such decision by the department of public works may be appealed to the board of supervisors by the applicant or any other affected person.

(Ord. 255 <7, 1978)