Agricultural Water Well Ordinance – Extension of Temporary Moratorium (Urgency Ordinance No. 1588)
Summary
SCH Number
2026081057
Public Agency
Yolo County
Document Title
Agricultural Water Well Ordinance – Extension of Temporary Moratorium (Urgency Ordinance No. 1588)
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
8/27/2026
Document Description
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).
Contact Information
Name
Jeff Anderson
Agency Name
Yolo County Department of Community Services
Job Title
Planning Manager
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency / Project Applicant
Phone
Location
Cities
unincorporated area
Counties
Yolo
Regions
Countywide, Northern California, Unincorporated
Cross Streets
N/A
Zip
N/A
Total Acres
N/A
Parcel #
N/A
State Highways
N/A
Railways
N/A
Airports
N/A
Schools
N/A
Waterways
N/A
Township
N/A
Range
N/A
Section
N/A
Base
N/A
Other Location Info
Focus areas within unincorporated areas
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Other
Type, Section or Code
Section 15060(c)(2), Preliminary Review; Section 15061(b)(3), Review for Exemption (Common Sense Exemption)
Reasons for Exemption
Section 15060(c)(2) provides that an activity is not subject to CEQA if the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. The ordinance simply exempts replacement wells from the moratorium to allow for the replacement of existing wells that do not result in an increase in pumping capacity, while prohibiting conversion of the property to new perennial crops while the moratorium is pending. It is therefore not a project under CEQA as the additional exemption to the moratorium will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect change in the environment. Further, Section 15061(b)(3) provides that a project is exempt from CEQA if the activity is covered by the commonsense exemption that CEQA applies only to projects, which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. There is no possibility that the ordinance may have a significant effect on the environment, as the ordinance continues the existing moratorium on permitting new wells without impeding ongoing agricultural practices that may require replacement wells with the same or lower pumping capacity.
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Categorical Exemptions: Section 15307, Actions by Regulatory Agencies for Protection of Natural Resources; Section 15308
Reasons for Exemption
Section 15307 (Class 7) consists of actions taken by regulatory agencies as authorized by state law or local ordinance to assure the maintenance, restoration, or enhancement of a natural resource where the regulatory process involves procedures for protection of the environment. Section 15308 (Class 8) consists of actions taken by regulatory agencies, as authorized by state or local ordinance, to assure the maintenance, restoration, enhancement, or protection of the environment where the regulatory process involves procedures for protection of the environment. The ordinance will maintain the status quo of the existing moratorium on new agricultural wells, pending further review of potential changes to well permitting procedures and land use regulations related to certain crop conversions. It will also continue to protect groundwater resources and the environment by limiting the permitting of certain replacement wells that will not result in the conversion of land to perennial crops or otherwise increase the existing pumping capacity of the replacement well while the temporary moratorium is in effect.
County Clerk
Yolo
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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