The UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE) Water & Soil Program provides education, applied research, and technical assistance in agricultural water management to cultivated crop producers such as winegrape, orchard, and vegetable farmers in Sonoma, Napa, Marin, and Mendocino counties. The program is interested in practices that help farmers improve water efficiency, understand soil water interactions, and adapt to environmental extremes. Through this work, the program advances knowledge and delivers practical resources to support sustainable and productive farming.
The Water & Soil Program is led by Helaine Berris. Helaine received a B.S. in Eco-Hydrology from the University of Nevada Reno, a M.S. in Hydrologic Sciences and a M.S. in International Agricultural Development from University of California Davis. For inquiries, please contact -
On this page -
- Water & Soil Testing
- Water Quality
- Irrigation Management
- Water Management & Planning Tools
- Groundwater Policy & Management
- Technical Assistance & Funding Opportunities
- Events
Check out these Soil & Nutrient Management resources for more information on soil health and nutrition.
1. Water & Soil Testing
Sample Collection
- How to take a water sample
- How to take a soil sample
- How to Do Soil Sampling - CDFA Healthy Soils Program, Video
- Soil Sampling in Orchards & Vineyards - CDFA
- Soil Sampling (general) - CDFA
- Planning Soil Sampling Worksheet - UCCE Sonoma Specialty Crops Program
- Soil mapping tools for sampling plans
- Web Soil Survey - NRCS
- UC Soil Web
- Soil & Nutrient Management - UCCE Sonoma Specialty Crops Program Resources
Interpretation of Analysis Results
- Assessing Water Quality and Taking a Water Sample
- Soil Fertility Interpretation - UCCE Sonoma Specialty Crops Program
- Document
Water & Soil Labs
- Selected Plant and Soil Laboratories in Northern and Central California
- Click "Services Provided," at the top of the page to see lab testing capabilities.
2. Water Quality
- Agricultural Water Quality, Treatment, and Testing
- Water Quality Technical Notes
3. Irrigation Management
- Vineyard Irrigation
- Irrigation efficiency
- Irrigation application and scheduling
- Deficit Irrigation of Quality Winegrapes Using Micro-Irrigation Techniques
- Determining Irrigation Requirements
- Methods and Tools for Irrigation Scheduling - UCANR Grapevine Short Course presentation
- Soil moisture sensors for irrigation scheduling - University of Minnesota Extension
- Vineyard Irrigation with a Limited Supply of Water (video)
- When to start irrigating vineyards
- Irrigation Design and Maintenance
- Choosing the right irrigation system and equipment - University of Minnesota Extension
- Filtration, Treatment, and Maintenance Considerations for Micro-Irrigation Systems - Virginia Cooperative Extension
- Irrigation Filtration
- Irrigation Clogging
- Maintenance of Microirrigation Systems
- Maintaining Microirrigation Systems When Using Well Water
- Using Flowmeters for Monitoring Irrigation Applications
4. Water Management & Planning Tools
Field Monitoring Tools
- Measuring Grapevine Water Stress - Stem Water Potential (video)
- Soil moisture sensors
- Document
- DIY tensiometer guide
- Soil moisture by feel - NRCS
- Soil texture by feel - NRCS
Web Based Tools
- CA Irrigation Management Information System (CIMIS) - DWR
- CA Water Watch - DWR
- CIMIS ETo Zones Map
- CIMIS Interactive Temporal ETo Zones Map
- UC Soil Web
- Interactive mapping tools for soil properties, soil series, groundwater banking index, leaching hazard index, and time to trafficability after soil wetting.
- Web Soil Survey - NRCS
Other Resources & Tools
- Cover Crop Selection Tool - Western Cover Crop Council
- Specialty Crops Water Management
5. Groundwater Policy & Management
CA's Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA)
Sonoma County Groundwater
- Sonoma County Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSA)
- Find your groundwater basin - data map viewer
- GSA Programs
- Flow Smart - Voluntary groundwater flow-metering program
- Level Up - Voluntary groundwater well-monitoring program
- Well Aware - Tools for building local groundwater sustainability
- Permit Sonoma Updated Well Permitting
Napa County Groundwater
Marin County Groundwater
Mendocino County Groundwater
6. Technical Assistance & Funding Opportunities
- Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF)
- Farmer Funding Opportunities Database
- California Underserved and Small Producer (CUSP) Program
- Grants for drought relief
- CA Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA)
- CA Department of Water Resources (DWR)
- Gold Ridge RCD -
- Marin RCD
- Mendocino RCD
- Napa RCD
- Sonoma RCD -
- USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
7. Events
Water Talk Podcast - Download all the episodes in Spotify, Apple, and Google podcasts