Groundwater Sustainability Agencies
The San Gorgonio Pass Subbasin is governed by three Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs): the Desert Water Agency GSA, the Verbenia GSA, and the San Gorgonio Pass GSA. Desert Water Agency has been designated an “exclusive” GSA over its service area in the eastern most portion of the San Gorgonio Pass Subbasin. The Verbenia GSA consists of a one square mile area that overlaps the service areas of the Mission Springs Water District and San Gorgonio Pass Water Agency in the eastern portion of the San Gorgonio Pass Subbasin. The rest of the San Gorgonio Pass Subbasin consists of the San Gorgonio Pass GSA that includes the San Gorgonio Pass Water Agency, Banning Heights Mutual Water Company, the City of Banning, and the Cabazon Water District. The three GSAs are working collaboratively to implement the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) in the San Gorgonio Pass Subbasin.
The San Gorgonio Pass Subbasin GSAs collaboratively prepared the 2022 San Gorgonio Pass Subbasin Groundwater Sustainability Plan (2022 San Gorgonio Pass Subbasin GSP). The GSAs adopted the 2022 San Gorgonio Pass Subbasin GSP following a public hearing on December 26, 2021, and submitted it to the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) on January 25, 2022. On October 26, 2023, DWR determined that the San Gorgonio Pass Subbasin GSP satisfies the objectives of SGMA and notified the GSAs that the Plan was approved and that they would be required to submit an assessment and update of the GSP by January 1, 2027, and every five years thereafter. Information about the GSP development process can be found at www.sgpgsas.org. A copy of the 2022 San Gorgonio Pass Subbasin GSP can be found at DWR's SGMA Portal.
In 2022, DWR notified all GSAs who submitted GSPs that they would be required to submit annual reports pursuant to SGMA by April 1, 2022, and every year thereafter. The GSAs have collaboratively prepared and submitted the San Gorgonio Pass Subbasin Annual Reports by Water Year to DWR. Copies of the Annual Reports can be found at DWR's SGMA Portal.