By Robert P. Wichert—
Groundwater is one of California’s most important water resources, and for many regions, it provides the only reliable source of drinking water.
Through regional collaboration and innovative planning, the Sacramento Suburban Water District (SSWD) implemented sustainable groundwater management practices years before the state mandated it under the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.
This long-term stewardship is especially important because groundwater remains the foundation of SSWD’s water supply. Today, the District operates more than 80 wells throughout our service area. Keeping those wells running reliably requires continual maintenance, repair and, as infrastructure ages, more significant rehabilitation. As with most technical fields, maintaining groundwater infrastructure requires specialized expertise that cannot be easily or quickly replaced. California requires well drilling contractors to have at least four years of experience and pass state licensing examinations. The work itself can include drilling, casing, cementing, cleaning, repairing and rehabilitating wells and their pumping systems.
Our state has seen what can happen when demand for those skills increases. During the state’s severe drought a decade ago, the Contractors State License Board expedited licensing for well-drilling and pump contractors to help meet increased demand for their services. The state also encouraged other qualified contractors to pursue well-drilling licenses to help expand capacity.
For water agencies, access to this unique expertise matters. When specialized contractors are difficult to secure, routine maintenance can be delayed and unexpected equipment failures can leave important water sources offline longer than anticipated. SSWD experienced this challenge firsthand when we became increasingly concerned about our ability to secure specialized well contractors when we needed them. A prolonged outage at one well is manageable. Multiple wells awaiting specialized repairs can begin to affect the flexibility and reliability that water systems depend on.
Although often overlooked, access to specialized expertise is a water reliability issue.
In 2023, SSWD entered into an exclusive five-year agreement with Kirby’s Pump & Mechanical, a groundwater well contractor, to ensure we had prompt, reliable access to the expertise needed to maintain and repair our wells. Over the following three years, that arrangement gave us an opportunity to see the value of having specialized expertise consistently available when we needed it. It also prompted us to think differently about how we could address our workforce needs over the longer term.
This year, that thinking led SSWD to purchase KPM and bring its specialized expertise in-house.
It was an unconventional step, and not one that will make sense for every water agency. Before moving forward, our Board commissioned an independent cost-benefit analysis to determine whether the approach made financial and operational sense. The analysis projected that the purchase could pay for itself in less than three and a half years and save approximately $7 million over 10 years.
But the larger lesson isn’t about one acquisition.
California spends considerable time planning for the physical infrastructure and water supplies we will need in the decades ahead. We should bring that same long-term thinking to the people and specialized skills required to operate and maintain those systems.
That means asking practical questions. Do we have the expertise needed to maintain critical facilities? Where are we vulnerable to shortages in specialized skills or contractor availability? Could a lack of specialized expertise leave infrastructure unavailable when we need it most? And are there different ways to secure those capabilities before a problem becomes an emergency?
The answers will look different for every agency. But for SSWD, bringing a specialized contractor into our workforce ensures a resilient water delivery system backed by the skills needed to keep our infrastructure working long into the future.
Robert P. Wichert represents Division 3 on the Sacramento Suburban Water District Board of Directors and is a Citrus Heights resident.
*This article was submitted by Rich Venn of Fiona Hutton & Associates, on behalf of Sacramento Suburban Water District
