Agricultural Water Well Ordinance – Extension of Temporary Moratorium (Urgency Ordinance No. 1588)

On August 26, 2025, the Board of Supervisors adopted an urgency ordinance imposing a temporary 45-day moratorium on the approval or issuance of well permits for new agricultural, non-exempt wells located within the Yolo Subbasin Groundwater Agency’s designated Focus Areas, which has since been extended with the adoption of Urgency Ordinance No. 1577 on October 7, 2025 for an additional 10 months and 15 days (through August 25, 2026) to allow time to better understand, among other things, the impacts of land use changes, particularly the hardening of groundwater demands with increased crop conversions to perennial crops. Domestic wells (wells producing less than two acre-feet per year for individual domestic water use), public supply system wells as defined in Health & Safety Code § 116275, monitoring wells or other wells not intended for extraction of groundwater, and minor alterations to certain existing wells were exempted from the temporary moratorium. On November 4, 2025, the Board of Supervisors adopted Urgency Ordinance No. 1580 amending Urgency Ordinance No. 1577 to also exempt certain replacement wells that may otherwise cause costly delays by allowing for a timelier replacement of existing wells that may fail or need replacement while the moratorium is in effect. Urgency Ordinance No. 1588, adopted by the Board of Supervisors on August 25, 2026, extends the temporary moratorium on the approval or issuance of well permits for new agricultural, non-exempt wells located within the Yolo Subbasin Groundwater Agency’s designated Focus Areas for one additional year through August 25, 2027. The Urgency Ordinance is effective immediately (August 25, 2026).