2026 marks a key decision year for groundwater management in the Salinas Valley.

Eight years ago, a milestone law for climate adaptation took effect to ensure California could maintain adequate water supplies for generations to come. The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, or SGMA, created a 25-year roadmap by which local agencies would begin modeling, implement sustainability plans and enforce compliance.

While still early in the overall timeline, 2026 marks a significant decision year as the Salinas Valley Groundwater Sustainability Agency brings together feasibility studies, modeling and economic analysis to formulate a set of projects and management actions to carry forward.

“It’s a big year of decision-making and getting the whole community behind it,” says Piret Harmon, general manager of SVBGSA. “We need to choose a suite of projects to move forward, and that’s going to happen this summer.”

For agriculture, the largest groundwater user in most basins, the impacts of SGMA are predicted to look different than for residential users. About 95 percent of water used in Monterey County is extracted from groundwater aquifers, with nearly 200,000 acres of land under cultivation in the Salinas Valley. Approximately 500,000 acre-feet of water per year are pumped in the valley, of which about 450,000 acre-feet are used for agriculture.

Future possibilities include shifting to crops that use less water or keeping some land unirrigated, although it is likely too early in the process to tell. Robbie Long is general manager for Braga Ranch, and also sits on the advisory committee for his subbasin. He says the company does not anticipate increased operational expenses outside of collected fees and is not anticipating the need for new infrastructure to comply with SGMA.

“It’s too soon to tell how, and in what areas, farms may be impacted,” Long says. “But certainly, there are discussions regarding reduced pumping and fallowing farmland. These could lead to decreased agricultural production in the Salinas Valley.”