California Ag Network

Tag: California Water Boards

  • Comment Period for Draft Water Quality Certification for Relicensing of the Balch Hydroelectric Project

    Today, State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) staff released for public review and comment a draft water quality certification for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) relicensing of the Balch Hydroelectric Project (Project; FERC Project No. 175). The comment period for the draft water quality certification closes at noon, June 19. Please see the notice for details on how to submit comments. The notice and draft water quality certification for the project are available here.

    The draft water quality certification and additional information on the Project are available on the State Water Board’s Project webpage(https://waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/water_issues/programs/water_quality_cert/balch.html)

    Instructions on how to sign up for the State Water Board’s email notification service are outlined below:

    1. Visit the Email Subscription webpage(https://waterboards.ca.gov/resources/email_subscriptions/).
    2. Provide your email in the required field, then click the “Submit” button.
    3. In the next page, select, “State Water Resources Control Board”, select “Water Rights”, then “Water Rights Water Quality Certification.”
    4. Click the “Submit” button.
    5. An email will be sent to you. You must respond to the email message to confirm your membership on the selected Topic(s).

    By enrolling in this email notification service, you will receive notices for other current projects overseen by the Division of Water Rights’ Water Quality Certification Program, including the project. You can enroll or un-enroll from the email subscription service at any time.

    The State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) and the nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards (Regional Water Boards) – collectively known as the California Water Boards – are dedicated to a single vision: abundant clean water for human uses and environmental protection to sustain California’s future.

    Under the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) and the state’s pioneering Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, the State and Regional Water Boards have regulatory responsibility for protecting the water quality of nearly 1.6 million acres of lakes, 1.3 million acres of bays and estuaries, 211,000 miles of rivers and streams, and about 1,100 miles of exquisite California coastline. — Story Contributed by the State Water Resources Control Board

  • 2025 California Grape Crush Report Reveals Further Drop

    Grape Crush Report Overview

    Information contained in this Report was supplied by processors to fulfill the reporting requirements of Section 55601.5 of the Food and Agricultural Code.

    The Grape Crush Report includes all grape tonnage crushed during the 2025 season. It also includes purchased tonnage and pricing information for grapes with final prices prior to January 31, 2026.

    Details of the crushed tonnage, degrees Brix, and weighted average prices were reported by grape type and variety, as well as by grape pricing districts. The 17 districts refer to the area in which the grapes were grown as defined in the Administrative Code. A district map is located on the inside of the front cover.

    Summary of Grape Tonnages and Prices

    The 2025 crush totaled 2,759,202 tons, down 6.2% from the 2024 crush of 2,942,673 tons. White wine varieties accounted for the largest share of all grapes crushed, at 1,316,716 tons, down 6.0% from 2024. Red wine varieties crushed totaled 1,306,727 tons, down 10.8% from 2024. Tons crushed of raisin type varieties totaled 11,541, down 51.2% from 2024, and tons crushed of table type varieties totaled 124,218, up 132.3% from 2024.

    The Grape Crush Report includes the total number of tons crushed for concentrate production. In determining grape tonnage crushed for concentrate production, each processor was required to report the estimated equivalent tons of grapes crushed for grape concentrate. For the 2025 season, this total was 337,705 tons, 12.2% of the 2025 grape crush total. This report provides only the aggregate figure for grapes crushed for concentrate production and does not include information by district, type, or variety.

    The 2025 average price of all varieties was $978.60, down 3.8% from 2024. Average prices for the 2025 crop by type were as follows: red wine grapes, $1,280.63, down 4.4% from 2024; white wine grapes, $707.12, down 0.9% from 2024; raisin grapes, $312.75, up 5.5% from 2024; and table grapes, $201.00, up 33.4% from 2024.

    Leading Grape Varieties and Districts

    In 2025, Chardonnay continued to account for the largest percentage of the total tonnage crushed at 17.8%. Cabernet Sauvignon accounted for the second largest percentage of the total crush at 15.7%. Raisin grape varieties crushed for wine accounted for 0.4% of the total crush and table varieties crushed for wine were 4.5% of the total crush.

    District 13 (Madera, Fresno, Alpine, Mono, Inyo Counties; and Kings and Tulare Counties north of Nevada Avenue (Avenue 192)), had the largest share of the State’s crush at 792,899 tons. The average price per ton in District 13 was $336.08.

    Grapes produced in District 4 (Napa County) received the highest average price at $6,767.53 per ton, down 2.6% from 2024. District 3 (Sonoma and Marin counties) received the second highest average price at $2,761.37 per ton, down 5.7% from 2024.

    The 2025 Chardonnay average price of $1,012.01 was down 4.2% from 2024 and the Cabernet Sauvignon average price of $2,127.33 was down 2.7% from 2024. The 2025 average price for French Colombard was $289.14, down 6.8% from 2024, while the Pinot Gris average price was down 0.3% from 2024, at $554.98 per ton.

    Read the full report from the California Department of Food and Agriculture here.

  • SGMA Reporting Open in the Tulare Lake and Tule Subbasins

    The Groundwater Extraction Annual Reporting System (GEARS) is now open for reporting under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA.) Pumpers in the Tulare Lake and Tule subbasins will need to file their first groundwater extraction reports to the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board or Board) by May 1, 2026, except for pumpers who were granted an exclusion from reporting and fees.

    The State Water Board designated both the Tulare Lake and Tule subbasins as probationary in 2024. Consequently, most groundwater pumpers in the Tulare Lake and Tule subbasins are required to track groundwater use, submit annual groundwater extraction reports, and pay extraction fees to the Board.

    Reporting Support

    Visit the GEARS Resources webpage to access a user guide, videos, and information about events to help with reporting.

    The State Water Board mailed letters to known groundwater pumpers with unique Correspondence IDs. If you are subject to reporting requirements and do not receive a letter by March 18, please contact Board staff at sgma@waterboards.ca.gov.

    Reporting Exclusions

    The following pumpers are not required to submit extraction reports to the State Water Board:

    • Pumpers who extract two acre-feet or less per year for domestic purposes only (de minimis pumpers), or
    • Pumpers who extract groundwater only within the boundaries of Delano-Earlimart Irrigation District Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) or Kern-Tulare Water District GSA in the Tule Subbasin, provided they comply with the corresponding GSA’s groundwater management requirements.

    Before May 1, 2026, pumpers who fall within one of these two categories and receive letters about reporting should use the GEARS system to notify the Board that they are exempt from reporting to avoid receiving further communications regarding reporting requirements.

    Potential Exclusions

    • On April 7, the State Water Board will consider adopting resolutions to exclude groundwater pumpers in the Tulare Lake and Tule subbasins who extract no more than 20 acre-feet of groundwater per year from the reporting and fee requirements on the basis that these groundwater pumpers have a minimal impact on overall subbasin groundwater extractions. View the Tulare Lake Subbasin Notice and Tule Subbasin Notice for more information.
    • The Board may adopt, modify, or reject these proposed exclusions. If the Board rejects the potential exclusions, pumpers who are not otherwise exempt from the reporting requirement will be required to report. Board staff will send an update regarding any decisions on potential exclusions to the SGMA Groundwater Management email list.

    Fee Waivers

    Low-income residents, water systems serving disadvantaged communities, and public schools may be eligible to have their fees waived. To be eligible for a fee waiver, pumpers must report their extractions by the May 1, 2026, deadline. For more information on eligibility and how to request a fee waiver, visit the SGMA Reporting and Fees webpage.   

    More information:

    Contact the SGMA Program at sgma@waterboards.ca.gov or: 916-322-6508.

    — By the California Water Boards