Water is vital to the economy, the environment, and the quality of life in Sacramento County. While this precious resource is visible every day in the American, Sacramento and Cosumnes Rivers, water underground is no less important, providing about half of the region’s water supply. Groundwater serves the needs of cities, farms and businesses and provides high quality drinking water to urban and rural residents, all while helping to sustain vital ecosystems. Learn more about the South American Groundwater Subbasin (SASb), how six Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) in the SASb are responding to the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) to develop a Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP), and how you can participate to promote the health and longevity of our shared and valued resource.
SGMA + the SASb
Why You Should Be Involved
Join us and learn about the condition and future health of your groundwater subbasin. Participate in the process to understand what needs to be done to protect the quality and availability of this valuable resource. Learn why maintaining a sustainable groundwater subbasin matters to the economy, environment, and quality of life of our urban and rural communities.
Data Sources: DWR SGMA Data Viewer Available: https://sgma.water.ca.gov/webgis/?appid=SGMADataViewer#boundaries
Note: GSA boundaries subject to change
The South American Subbasin (DWR Bulletin 118, 5- 21.65) is a high priority subbasin within the larger Sacramento Valley Groundwater Basin. A majority of the SASb is surrounded by rivers including the American River on the northern boundary, the Cosumnes and Mokelumne Rivers on the south, and the Sacramento River forming the western boundary. The eastern boundary is the only area not bounded by a river, located where the alluvial sediments of the groundwater basin give way to the foothills of the the Sierra Nevada. The SASb shares boundaries with five adjacent subbasins, the Yolo Subbasin to the northwest, Solano Subbasin to the west, North American Subbasin to the north, and the Eastern San Joaquin and Cosumnes Subbasins to the south.
In 2014, California enacted the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which requires the state’s high and medium priority groundwater basins to develop a GSP to achieve a sustainable regime that balances pumping and recharge and considers the needs of all water users. The change in water management laws has created new obligations for residents and water managers in the SASb. In accordance with SGMA, six Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) were formed, and under a collective Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Spring of 2020, GSAs agreed to develop one Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) for the SASb.
