1. The Forebay Remains Largely Sustainable, but the Draft GSP Needs Significant Revisions Before January 2027 Public Hearing and Submittal Timeline The General Manager reported that the Forebay sub-basin's water balance is within roughly 400 acre-feet of equilibrium across tens of thousands of acre-feet pumped — essentially within the model's margin of error — indicating the basin is in good shape for the next five-year planning period. However, the draft revised Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) chapters 9 and 10 have not been meaningfully updated from the 2022 version. Public commenters flagged that the table showing demand management actions has no numbers, and that key cost/schedule items (Table 10-3 and Figure 10-2) appeared to be missing from the draft. The General Manager also noted there is no acknowledgment of actions already taken such as the Arroyo Seco River Watershed Sustainable Management Policy or the work of the SMC TAG. Multiple public commenters flagged serious inconsistencies, including one section of Chapter 6 that states the Forebay is not in overdraft while another section of the same chapter concludes it is. The General Manager plans to bring the draft chapters to the Advisory Committee in October and to the board with a public hearing targeted for the first week of January 2027.
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