The groundwater bill headed for Napa Valley vineyards and rural wells this fall just got about $1.2 million lighter.
Napa County’s supervisors, who double as the board of the county’s groundwater agency, signed off June 23 on a budget that collects $931,182 in groundwater fees for the year that started July 1 — down from the $2,168,300 the county set out to charge when it adopted the fees in December. The difference comes out of savings: the agency will draw $750,000 from a fund balance it pegs at about $1.39 million.
Key Takeaways
- The Napa County Groundwater Sustainability Agency will collect $931,182 in fees for fiscal year 2026-27 instead of $2,168,300 — a cut of about $1.24 million.
- The agency is covering the difference with $750,000 of its own fund balance, on top of the county’s standing $500,000-a-year general fund contribution.
- Roughly 2,600 property owners in the Napa Valley Subbasin pay the fee: growers, rural homeowners on wells and public water systems.
- Property owners have until July 10 to correct their parcel information or claim a waiver. The final fee assessment goes back to the board July 28.
Who pays, and what they were facing
The fees are new. The county adopted them Dec. 9 on a 3-2 vote, with Supervisors Liz Alessio and Anne Cottrell opposed, to fund the groundwater monitoring, reporting and planning the state requires under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. They’re meant to become the main funding source for the agency doing that work — the Napa County Groundwater Sustainability Agency, formed in 2019 — with the idea that whoever pumps from the Napa Valley Subbasin pays for keeping the basin healthy.
The December rate schedule spelled out who owed what. Vineyards and other farms faced $38.58 per planted acre, plus another $60.16 for each acre irrigated with groundwater — $98.74 an acre for irrigated ground. Rural homeowners on their own wells: $62.58 a parcel. Public water systems pumping from the subbasin: $129.87 an acre-foot.
Then the wine economy kept sliding. The industry pushed back at the December hearing and again in June, arguing a new per-acre charge lands hard when grape contracts are drying up and vineyards are coming out of the ground.
The board heard them. At the June 23 meeting, Alessio pointed to a “serious contraction” in the wine industry with a “ripple effect on our communities,” the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported. Michelle Novi of Napa Valley Vintners told the board the smaller bill would ease some of the financial shock members are feeling, according to the paper.
What the cut actually looks like
The mechanics sit in a one-page memo from county CEO Ryan Alsop, dated the day of the vote. It cuts the agency’s expected fee revenue to $931,182 and trims expected state grant money from $631,128 to $250,000 to match what the agency can actually claim this year. The $750,000 in fund balance plugs the hole.
What no one can say yet is what the discount means for a single tax bill. The county is still checking parcel data — which acres are dry-farmed, which vineyards are gone, whether a well even sits inside the subbasin — and the final assessment doesn’t come back to the board until July 28. County staff have said it’s too early to put a percentage on the reduction, the Press Democrat reported.
The deadline that matters now is July 10. That’s the last day for property owners to fix the county’s information about their land or apply for a low-income waiver, available to households at or below 80% of the area median income. The agency takes questions at (707) 253-4471 and groundwater@countyofnapa.org, and posts fee details on the county’s groundwater fee page. The fees land on 2026-27 property tax bills, with the first installment due in December.
One-time money buys one year
Cottrell, who voted against the fees in December, backed the program’s logic in June: “We need accurate information about our groundwater uptake, and we know the most direct and equitable way to fund our groundwater program is a use-based fee structure,” she said, per the Press Democrat.
That’s the tension the board hasn’t resolved. Fund balance is one-time money. Spend $750,000 of a $1.39 million cushion this year and the same math comes back next spring, with less to fall back on. The fee fight in Napa Valley isn’t over — the county just paid to put it off for a year.
FAQ
Who pays Napa County’s groundwater sustainability fee?
About 2,600 property owners in the Napa Valley Subbasin: farms with planted acreage, homeowners on private wells and public water systems that pump groundwater. Parcels served by city water in Napa, St. Helena, Calistoga or Yountville are exempt.
How much are the fees?
The rates adopted in December run $38.58 per planted acre plus $60.16 per groundwater-irrigated acre for agriculture, $62.58 per parcel for domestic wells and $129.87 per acre-foot for public water systems. With the June budget cut, actual 2026-27 charges should come in well below those figures; the final assessment is due before the board July 28.
When do the fees show up?
On fiscal year 2026-27 property tax bills, with the first installment due in December.
What if the county has my parcel wrong?
Contact the agency by July 10 to correct acreage or well information, document dry farming or apply for a hardship waiver: (707) 253-4471 or groundwater@countyofnapa.org.