STATEWIDE NEWS
With sustainability plans filed, groundwater agencies now must figure out how to pay for them: “The bill is coming due, literally, to protect and restore groundwater in California. Local agencies in the most depleted groundwater basins in California spent months putting together plans to show how they will achieve balance in about 20 years. Now, after submitting those plans to the state in January, groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs) must figure how to pay for them. Protecting, preserving and restoring critically overdrafted groundwater basins takes money — to administer the plan, and eventually for the brick-and-mortar groundwater projects that will help keep large swaths of San Joaquin Valley agriculture in business. Passing those costs to the people pulling water from an aquifer could be complicated. ... ” Read more from Western Water here: With sustainability plans filed, groundwater agencies now must figure out how to pay for them
Groundwater sustainability planning undeterred by COVID-19: “COVID-19 has forced many of us to find creative ways of working together while sheltering in place. For California’s new groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs), that means bringing together diverse groups of stakeholders in virtual forums to develop and implement state-mandated groundwater sustainability plans. We talked to Dave Ceppos—who, as managing senior mediator at Sacramento State’s Consensus and Collaboration Program, is working with many GSAs—about how the pandemic is affecting the complex public outreach process required by the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). … ” Read more from the PPIC here: Groundwater sustainability planning undeterred by COVID-19
A low snowpack makes it imperative to better manage groundwater supplies. Here’s how. “Despite the much-needed April showers we saw this week, our normally wet January and February were bone dry in most of California. So it came as little surprise when the annual April 1 snowpack measurement in the Sierras came in low, at about 53% of average statewide. It’s another important reminder of how California’s weather, and consequently our water supplies, are swinging to greater extremes. The low snowpack and extreme weather it signals make it more imperative than ever to carefully manage another part of our water system: underground water supplies. … ” Continue reading at the Environmental Defense Fund here: A low snowpack makes it imperative to better manage groundwater supplies. Here’s how.
Groundwater might be newest cash crop for Valley farmers: “San Joaquin Valley farmers may soon have another crop to sell along with almonds, tomatoes, and peppers — the groundwater beneath their land. Proposed groundwater markets have popped up in just about every groundwater sustainability plan (GSP) filed with the state Jan. 31. One such market is about to launch its first phase within the next week in Kern County. The proposed markets are being touted by some as a way to limit groundwater pumping while still allowing farmers the flexibility to optimize their resources. Others are worried groundwater markets could devastate disadvantaged communities and small farmers who don’t have the resources to compete with giant farming companies such as Wonderful and Boswell. … ” Read more from GV Wire here: Groundwater might be newest cash crop for Valley farmers
California groundwater wells receive grades for improvement and degradation: “In California, groundwater is a major source for drinking and other uses. Identifying where groundwater quality is getting better or worse is essential for managing groundwater resources. A new study conducted by a team from the California Water Science Center, led by Research Hydrologist Bryant Jurgens, assessed areas of improving and degrading groundwater-quality by using a new metric for scoring. The scoring was based on how high chemical concentrations were and whether they were getting better or worse and how rapidly or slowly they were changing. This work was conducted in nine hydrogeologic provinces throughout California. The location of the provinces generally corresponded to groundwater basins identified by the California Department of Water Resources. ... ” Read more from the USGS here: California groundwater wells receive grades for improvement and degradation
NORTH COAST
Mendocino: Groundwater management hearings set for late April: “Registered voters that live in Mendocino have the opportunity and responsibility to decide the direction of groundwater management in Mendocino at two upcoming Mendocino City Community Services District Public Hearings scheduled for April 16 and 27. The purpose of the April 16 hearing is to consider the adoption of Resolutions of Intention to adopt an amendment to the Groundwater Extraction Permit, re-adopt the Water Shortage Contingency Plan and its accompanying Ordinance. … ” Read more from the Fort Bragg Advocate here: Groundwater management hearings set for late April
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
What’s the plan to end groundwater overdraft in the San Joaquin Valley? “SGMA requires water users to bring their groundwater basins into long-term balance over the next two decades. Although there are no easy solutions, the math is simple: bringing these basins into balance will require expanding water supplies, reducing water demands, or a combination of these two approaches. Our in-depth study of water solutions for the San Joaquin Valley found that about a quarter of the region’s 1.8 million acre-feet (maf) of annual overdraft could be filled with new supplies at a cost that local water users can afford. Among supply options, by far the most promising approach is expanding groundwater recharge: storing more of the runoff from large storms in underground aquifers. Filling the remaining three-quarters of the gap will likely require demand reductions. Since agriculture is the predominant water user, this will entail taking some farmland—at least 500,000 acres—out of production. Giving farmers the flexibility to trade water—so it can be used on the most productive lands—can reduce the costs of ending overdraft by two-thirds. … ” Read more from the PPIC here: What’s the plan to end groundwater overdraft in the San Joaquin Valley?
Price of reclaimed water still too high for ag: “If you’re a Central Valley farmer and haven’t yet been hit up by someone about reusing crummy water for irrigation — just wait. Companies are springing up all over with the latest gizmo they believe will take nasty, salty water, mostly from shallow aquifers on the valley’s west side or oilfield produced water, and make clean “new” irrigation water. It’s true, there are ways to clean even the worst water. … Each has its pros and cons, but two big questions always remain: What about the waste? What’s the energy cost? … ” Continue reading at SJV Water here: Price of reclaimed water still too high for ag