he Martis Valley aquifer underlies about 35,000-acres in both Placer and Nevada counties, near the Town of Truckee.  It is the main water supply for numerous public and private entities.  This area has seen significant growth in the last few decades with more planned for the future.  Maintaining an adequate water supply and protecting water quality are critical for the region's future. The Truckee Donner Public Utility District (TDPUD), Northstar Community Services District (NCSD) and Placer County Water Agency (PCWA) are the three primary public water agencies that depend on the Martis Valley Basin for their water supply.  Together, the TDPUD, NCSD and PCWA (Partnership Agencies) have partnered to update a groundwater management plan and help develop a groundwater model for the Martis Valley basin. The Martis Valley Groundwater Management Plan (GMP) is being updated to reflect current water resources planning in the region and to incorporate the latest information and understandings of the underlying groundwater basin.  This collaborative effort will provide the guidance necessary to align groundwater policy. In addition to updating the groundwater management plan, a computer model of the groundwater basin will be developed, which will incorporate available data and enhance understanding of the groundwater basin.  The Partnership Agencies have selected Brown and Caldwell of Sacramento and their subcontractor, Balance Hydrologics of Truckee, to prepare the groundwater management plan, conduct public outreach and assist in management of the groundwater model.  Development of the plan started in April of 2011 and will take about 2 years to complete. This collaborative effort was also able to use federal funding from the Bureau of Reclamation to develop sophisticated groundwater modeling capabilities from the Desert Research Institute (DRI).   A climate change modeling component will be part of the final groundwater model. Groundwater Management Plan and Groundwater Model mouse-over mouse-over mouse-over The Placer County Water Agency was created on September 11, 1957 by a special act of the State Legislature.  The Agency's mandate is to develop and protect the water resources within the County for the people of Placer County.  Though the bulk of PCWA's services are on the west side of the Sierra's, PCWA operates one service area zone in the Martis Valley area.  PCWA PCWA Truckee Donner PUD Truckee Donner PUD Northstar CSD Northstar CSD Truckee Donner PUD: The TDPUD is a non-profit, publicly owned utility agency created in 1927 and overseen by a locally elected board of directors. TDPUD provides the greater Truckee area with reliable and high quality water and power services while guiding the community to conserve resources. For more information about the TDPUD, call 530-587-3896 or visit www.TDPUD.org. The NCSD was founded in 1990 under Government Code 61600 as a local government entity to serve the Northstar Community with governmental services.  The District currently provides fire protection, fuels management, water, sewer collection, snow removal, road surface maintenance, recycling services, solid waste management and trail construction and maintenance. Map of the Martis Valley Groundwater Basin and Partnership Agencies Service Areas Project goals: • Ensure long-term quality and availability of groundwater in the Martis Valley basin. • Creation of the groundwater management plan and model is expected to take two years. • Total cost of the project is approximately $750,000; which includes grant funds of approximately $500,000 from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and staff and contributions from the Partnership Agencies. Local agency shares are $150,000 for the Truckee Donner PUD, $60,000 for the Northstar CSD and $40,000 for PCWA. For additional information, please contact one of the following:    Tony Firenzi Project Manager PCWA (530) 823-4886 Tina Bauer Project Manager Brown and Caldwell (916) 853-5316 Steven Poncelet TDPUD (530) 587-3896 click to enlarge