Great Oaks Water Co. v. Santa Clara Valley Water Dist. CA6

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND1

A. History and formation of the water district Groundwater pumping in Santa Clara County (County) began in the 1850s, when the first wells were drilled to supply water for residents, businesses, and agricultural uses. By the 1920s, the rate of pumping vastly exceeded the rate of natural replenishment, resulting in declining groundwater supplies, permanent land subsidence, and significant flooding. As a result, in 1929 the Legislature created the Santa Clara Valley Water Conservation District, a predecessor to the water district, to comprehensively manage water resources, stop groundwater overdraft and land subsidence, and protect the County from flooding. In the 1930s, the water district constructed several conservation reservoirs to capture rainfall and begin replenishing the underground aquifer through managed groundwater recharge. However, over the course of the 1940s, the County’s population grew from 30,000 to nearly 300,000. That growth, together with severe drought conditions, further depleted groundwater supplies, worsened subsidence, and caused saltwater intrusion into the aquifer. As a result, in 1951 the Legislature created the…