North Coast Water Board: Gualala Watershed Roads Assessment Order
Published Friday, August 21, 2026
On July 13, the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board released a draft Water Code section 13267 information order that would require 26 landowners owning 1,000 or more acres within the Gualala River watershed in Sonoma and Mendocino counties to inventory, assess and prioritize rural roads on their properties. The draft order is based largely on research conducted approximately 25 years ago and would impose significant costs on affected landowners due to the extensive level of detail required for the assessment of road networks across their properties.
The estimated cost of compliance ranges from approximately $3,800 to $4,800 per mile of road assessed. The regional water board has indicated that there is a strong likelihood that similar information orders will be expanded to other watersheds throughout the North Coast region. California Farm Bureau’s legal team is preparing a comment letter opposing the draft order as written and advocating for revisions to ensure that any requirements are supported by current science and appropriately tailored to achieve the board's objectives. Farm Bureau also seeks support from the North Coast region county Farm Bureaus through sign-ons. Written comments on the draft order are due by Aug. 21.
Staff contact: Sarah Kiser, skiser@cfbf.com.
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