Friday August 7, 2026
San Francisco Chronicle —
In a challenge by environmental groups to the pumping of groundwater from rivers to fill wells for farmers, homes and businesses in Sonoma County, a state appeals court says counties must consider the impact of their water wells on fish and the environment.
Tuesday’s ruling by the 1st District Court of Appeal in San Francisco said Sonoma County had not properly considered the effects of new rules it issued in 2023 for increased pumping from the Russian River and other waterways, but might be able to meet legal standards with an environmental review.
On the central legal issue in the case, however, the court rejected the county’s argument that such reviews of water wells are required only for the state, and not for local governments.
“Sonoma’s regulation of well permits carries with it an ‘affirmative duty to take the public trust into account,’” Justice Tara Desautels wrote in the 3-0 ruling, quoting language from another appellate decision.
The state’s 3rd District Court of Appeal in Sacramento ruled in 2018 that state law required Siskiyou County to consider how permits issued for water well pumping could harm the Scott River. The state Supreme Court denied review of the case in the county’s appeal, but the ruling was not binding on other appellate courts, and Sonoma County and its supporters in the current case urged the 1st District Court to disregard it.