Sharing ideas and resources for successful implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.
“Tehama and Butte counties teamed up Friday to host a Northern Sacramento Valley forum on sustainable groundwater held at Rolling Hills Casino.
The event was a collaboration between the Tehama County UC Cooperative Extension and Butte County Department of Water and Resource Conservation. Allan Fulton, a Tehama County farm advisor, served as moderator. … ”
Read more from the Daily News here: Regional sustainable groundwater management forum hosted in Corning
“City officials approved a plan for a new groundwater sustainability project, hoping it will be a solution to increase the supply of groundwater and find a place for excess effluent water coming to the Tehachapi Waste Water Treatment Plant. The benefits will not appear for decades, when the project is complete.
The Tehachapi City Council unanimously approved this second of five phases at its April 1 meeting. … ”
Read more from the Tehachapi News here: Tehachapi: ‘It will change the way the city uses our water;’ City Council approves plan to study ways to increase groundwater supply
“Water planners and stakeholders from across the state convened in West Sacramento recently for the Department of Water Resources’ Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) Forum to share experiences and ideas as they implement the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).
DWR’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Office hosted the event on March 21, 2019, to assist GSAs as they plan for sustainability and to encourage stakeholder engagement and GSA coordination and collaboration within basins and between adjacent basins. … ”
Read more from DWR News here: Water Planners Share SGMA Strategies
“Parts of Sonoma Valley, particularly southeast of the city of Sonoma and in the El Verano/Fowler Creek areas, have seen a persistent decline in groundwater levels over the last decade – and it may be expanding. These chronic declines, based on data from the USGS and the Sonoma County Water Agency, indicate that groundwater withdrawals are occurring at a rate exceeding the rate of replenishment within the deeper aquifer zones of southern Sonoma Valley.
Saltwater intrusion is also threatening to compromise groundwater quality at Sonoma’s southernmost tip. … ”
Read more from The Kenwood Press here: Sonoma: Focus is on wells as groundwater board does its research
“On a quiet industrial side street near 41st Avenue and Soquel Drive, the Santa Cruz Water Department has been quietly pumping millions of gallons of water through temporary PVC piping. Every minute, about 400 gallons flow past pressure gauges and shut-off valves into a 2-foot-high concrete box that marks the top of Beltz Well 12. If a pilot program goes well, this whole system could play a pivotal role in the water security of communities from Aptos to UCSC.
Normally, water is pumping out of this well, not into it. As part of the reversal process, engineers went into the well and removed column piping, which now lies in a pile under a plastic tarp off to the side. Two 35,000-gallon tanks sit empty. … ”
Read more from Good Times Santa Cruz here: Inside Santa Cruz’s environmentally friendly water recharge
“A pilot project banking groundwater in the Newman area is showing positive results. The project is a joint effort of the Central California Irrigation District and the Del Puerto Water District, said Chris White, CCID general manager.
The site is located on 20 acres of property west of Eastin Road, within the Del Puerto Water District. … ”
Read more from Westside Connect here: Newman: Groundwater recharge project shows encouraging results
“A California law that passed in 2014 gave local control to agencies to manage their groundwater. The Glenn Groundwater Authority – created in 2017 – is an agency that was formed under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act to regulate groundwater at a local level.
“The last thing anybody wants is more regulation, I get that,” said Dave Ceppos, program manager for SGMA, during a public workshop on the law on Thursday. “… What SGMA did was gave over a huge amount of local control.” … ”
Read more from the Glenn County Transcript here: How does SGMA affect Glenn County?
“From a young age, most people know the basic requirements of planting: seeds, soil, sunlight and water. Farming and water, specifically freshwater, are intrinsically linked. Agriculture accounts for 70 percent of global freshwater withdrawals, according to the World Bank.
In its 2018 Global Responsibility Report, food company General Mills identified water risk as a material issue and pledged to champion the “activation of stewardship plans in its priority watersheds across its global value chain.
Jeff Hanratty, applied sustainability manager for General Mills, spoke with TriplePundit about the company’s efforts to identify and address key water risks related to agricultural production. He began by explaining how the organization created its focus on priority watersheds. … ”
Read more from Triple Pundit here: From California to Central India: Implementing Water Stewardship at the Local Level
“Discussion and approval of a revised budget and awarding of a $240,000 contract for water marketing consulting services were the main action items for the Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority board March 21.
A report and discussion on Plan of Action and Milestones, a report on Proposition 1 grant status, and a report on pump fee status and schedule were among other items on the agenda.
“Staff went through and basically reworked the budget from the start,” said Indian Wells Valley Water District General Manager Don Zdeba. … ”
Read more from the Independent here: Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority discusses, approves revised budget
They write,
“California had a wet November, a moist December, an absolutely drenched January and February, and so far a fairly watery March. Los Angeles exceeded its average annual rainfall a month ago, less than halfway into the “water year” (which runs from October through the following September). The Sierra snowpack is at more than 150% of average. The state is soaked.
So how come the U.S. Drought Monitor waited until Wednesday to declare California drought free for the first time in seven years? Hasn’t he been paying attention? And who is that guy, anyway? … ”
Read more from the LA Times here: The drought’s over? Sure. But our hydrological bank account is still drained