SGMA in the News

California looks to Australia for ways to manage its groundwater after worst-ever drought:  “In the powerhouse food bowl of California, the impact of its most recent drought — which finally ended in 2017 after eight gruelling years — continues to be felt across the sunshine state.  Farmers, experts and lawmakers are working to find more sustainable ways to drought-proof farms and address the vexed issue of water allocation. And it turns out many farmers and water experts in California are looking to Australia for answers as they face up to the biggest water reforms in the history of the US. … ”  Read more from the Australian Broadcasting Company here: California looks to Australia for ways to manage its groundwater after worst-ever drought

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

Siskiyou County groundwater case: After 10 years of fight, county admits defeat:  “The county’s aggressive litigation strategy involved retention of one of the nation’s preeminent natural resource lawyers to advance its legal argument that the common law Public Trust Doctrine does not apply to the county’s issuance of ministerial well construction permits in Scott Valley, according to a press release.  In July of 2019, the County of Siskiyou entered into a $1.7 million settlement agreement with the Environmental Law Foundation, Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman’s Associations, and Institute of Fisheries Resources, to settle the county’s payment of attorneys’ fees and costs in the case of Environmental Law Foundation, et al v. State Water Resources Control Board and County of Siskiyou (“ELF”), a Writ of Mandate case that the county aggressively litigated for close to a decade, and ultimately lost. ... ”  Read more from the Taft Midway Driller here: Siskiyou County: After 10 years of fight, county admits defeat

Supervisors vote to form Big Valley Groundwater Sustainability Agency; goal is to keep local control of water supply:  “The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to move forward with forming the Big Valley Groundwater Sustainability Agency, a move county leadership said is necessary to keep local control of the watershed.  The unanimous vote to adopt a resolution to form the new agency – in accordance with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which went into effect as part of California Water Code in January 2015 – followed a brief public hearing Tuesday morning. … ”  Read more from Lake County News here: Supervisors vote to form Big Valley Groundwater Sustainability Agency; goal is to keep local control of water supply

SACRAMENTO VALLEY

Roseville water update: Groundwater basin recharged:  “Increasingly, water management in California is a balancing act where solutions must knit together the needs of people, industry, farming, species and the environment.  Managing water to benefit these multiple uses is hard enough if water was a stationary resource – but it’s not. Especially during the winter months, water managers confront complex decisions about when and where water is released from reservoirs for winter flood protection as well as environmental flows and supply needs throughout the year. ... ”  Read more from Roseville Today here:  Roseville water update: Groundwater basin recharged

CENTRAL COAST

The fight over Salinas Valley groundwater heats up as free-for-all nears its end:  “California was the last Western state to pass legislation regulating groundwater: the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 arrived after more than a century of development, intensive agriculture, bouts of drought and the looming threat that our aquifers will dry up.  But the details of who would get to pump what – and the financial cost of achieving groundwater sustainability – are only now becoming clear. Agencies at the local level, like the Salinas Valley Groundwater Basin Sustainability Agency, are finalizing the details in the coming months. … ”  Read more from the Monterey County Weekly here: The fight over Salinas Valley groundwater heats up as free-for-all nears its end

Paso Robles Groundwater Sustainability Agency meets to discuss draft plan for basin:  “The Paso Robles Groundwater Sustainability Agency met Wednesday afternoon at the Paso Robles Library Conference Room. The agency includes representatives from the City of Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo County, San Juan Water District and San Miguel. About 50 people in attendance learned that the draft plan for the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin has been finalized and is available to be viewed on the website, PasoGCP.com.  Among those to speak at the meeting Wednesday afternoon, Steve and Jerry Lohr, who cultivate vineyards on the east side of Paso Robles. Jerry Lohr explained how his managers monitor groundwater levels and how they plan to manage reclaimed waste water from the city of Paso Robles with Lake Nacimiento water to protect water in the groundwater basin. … ”  Read more from the Paso Robles Daily News here: Paso Robles Groundwater Sustainability Agency meets to discuss draft plan for basin

Carpinteria Valley Water District plans sustainable groundwater basin:  “The Carpinteria Valley Water District (CVWD) is in the process of forming a Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) for Carpinteria Groundwater Basin (CGB) in partnership with the city of Carpinteria, Santa Barbara County and Ventura County. The GSA is a requirement of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) which was passed in 2014 to ensure better regional management of groundwater use in California.  SGMA aims to have sustainable groundwater management in California by 2042, which is defined as “management and use of groundwater in a manner that can be maintained during the planning and implementation horizon without causing undesirable results.” These undesirable results include chronic depletion of groundwater supply, reduction of storage, significant seawater intrusion, decreased water quality and substantial land subsidence. … ”  Read more from Coastal View here: Carpinteria Valley Water District plans sustainable groundwater basin

SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY

Caps on groundwater use create a new market in California:  “A long stretch of highway running between Los Angeles and San Francisco separates the dry hills to the west from the green plains of the San Joaquin Valley to the east, where much of America’s fruit, nuts and vegetables are grown. Every couple of miles billboards hint at the looming threat to the valley. “Is growing food a waste of water?” one billboard asks. Another simply says, “No Water, no Jobs”.  In the San Joaquin Valley agriculture accounts for 18% of jobs and agriculture runs on water. Most of it comes from local rivers and rainfall, some is imported from the river deltas upstate, and the rest is pumped out of groundwater basins. … ”  Read more from The Economist here: Caps on groundwater use create a new market in California

Surviving the Next Drought: It’s Political in California’s Central Valley:  “Growers in California’s Central Valley, famous for transforming patches of desert into the world’s most productive farmland, suffered more than any other during a recent stretch scientists mark as the Golden State’s driest since record-keeping began in 1895. The meager rain and snowfall between 2011 and 2015 forced some smaller farmers to give land back to nature or sell their remaining water supplies to bigger, wealthier farmers and developers.  Before the skies finally opened up in late 2016, the saving grace for many Central Valley farmers was groundwater. Farmers that could afford it drilled hundreds of feet below the valley floor, siphoned up water and rescued lucrative crops like almonds, pistachios and grapes. … ”  Read more from Courthouse News Service here: Surviving the Next Drought: It’s Political in California’s Central Valley

Gustine: City eyes groundwater sustainability options:  “The city is facing a fast-approaching deadline for identifying steps that will be taken to achieve groundwater sustainability, as required under state legislation enacted five years ago.  City Manager Doug Dunford told Mattos Newspapers recently that the city, which relies solely on groundwater wells to meet municipal water needs, has until Dec. 31 to submit its plan for achieving sustainability.  “We’re pumping 1,000 acre-feet a year, and 600 acre-feet is being percolated back into the system. We’re losing 400 acre-feet a year that is not recharging the system. That is where we are short,” Dunford explained. ... ”  Read more from the West Side Connect here:  Gustine: City eyes groundwater sustainability options

EASTERN SIERRA

The Owens Valley Groundwater Authority, according to Mono County:  “The Mono County Board of Supervisors heard a tutorial on the Owens Valley Groundwater Authority delivered by Deputy County Counsel Jason Conger at Tuesday’s meeting. The presentation and comments indicate a distinct line has been drawn between Mono’s members on the OVGA and Inyo County.  The bottom line: with the tentative low rating on the Owens Valley groundwater basin, Mono County’s Board doesn’t seem to see any advantage in keeping the OVGA intact. As Supervisor Bob Gardner said, “what’s broken that needs fixing? We need serious conversation to balance Mono County with Inyo’s Owens Lake issues.” … ”  Read more from the Sierra Wave here: The Owens Valley Groundwater Authority, according to Mono County

Ridgecrest: Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority approves well registration ordinance:  “All residents and organizations within the Indian Wells Valley will have to implement register their wells come Oct. 1 following the approval of an ordinance by the Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority board of directors.  The board passed the ordinance unanimously at its Thursday board meeting as part of the agency’s ongoing efforts to collect data for a required groundwater sustainability plan.  According to IWV Water District attorney James Worth, who acts as lead legal counsel for the IWVGA in 2019, it is a critical component in developing that plan. … ”  Read more from the Ridgecrest Independent here:  Ridgecrest: Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority approves well registration ordinance

Ridgecrest: Meadowbrook, Searles Valley Minerals protest groundwater model: “In light of the recent groundwater modeling scenarios generated by Indian Wells Valley Water Groundwater, some stakeholders in the basin have pushed back, including Searles Valley Minerals and Meadowbrook Dairy.  Lawyers for both entities submitted letters to the Policy Advisory Committee during a special meeting on Aug. 7 contesting the results generated from Model Scenario 6, which is a modified version of a previous scenario.  The scenarios generate data points about how the basin will be impacted after the IWVGA implements its groundwater sustainability plan. … ”  Read more from the Ridgecrest Independent here: Meadowbrook, Searles Valley Minerals protest groundwater model

Ridgecrest: Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority water resources manager talks transparency, options:  “Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority Water Resources Manager Steve Johnson touched on several concerns from the public in a lengthy report Thursday morning.  Johnson and his company Stetson Engineers are tasked with developing the IWVGA’s groundwater sustainability plan, a roadmap that will oversee the management of the basin for the next 20 to 50 years.  The top thing on his report Thursday was transparency, or the concern from members of the public, stakeholders and members of the technical and policy advisory committees. … ”  Read more from the Ridgecrest Independent here: Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority water resources manager talks transparency, options

Ridgecrest: Stephens grills Hayman on water: “It’s a frequent and recurring item on the Ridgecrest City Council’s agenda: discussing and providing guidance to Councilman Scott Hayman who is the city’s representative to the Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority. At the council meeting August 21, however, Mayor Pro Tem Lindsey Stephens used the opportunity to ask several specific pointed questions about the IWVGA and its plans, essentially grilling Hayman on the status of the project.  Stephens hammered on the topic with a relentless list of questions, until Hayman eventually said he did not feel the questioning was fair. … ”  Read more from the Ridgecrest Independent here: Ridgecrest: Stephens grills Hayman on water

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

San Bernardino district tops 30-year record for groundwater storage: “Like money in the bank, local groundwater aquifers have seen record-breaking deposits this year with a staggering 20 billion gallons saved so far and another two months still left in the water year, the San Bernardino Valley Water Conservation District has announced.  More than 61,000 acre-feet of snowmelt and rainfall has been diverted from Mill Creek and the Santa Ana River by the district and recharged into the groundwater basin for future use by those who pump water from the basin. Imported water was also used to help supplement the amount of water stored. (An acre-foot contains 326,000 gallons of water, enough to fill a football field a foot deep and to satisfy the needs of the average family for one to two years.) … ”  Read more from Redlands Community News here: San Bernardino district tops 30-year record for groundwater storage

Coachella Valley Commentary: Regional collaboration needed to keep the desert’s groundwater supply healthy, says Trish Rhay:  She writes, “Recent validation by state regulators of the effective and sustainable management of Coachella Valley’s groundwater basins speaks volumes about the importance of collaboration by local water managers to protect our most important resource.  For years, the Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD), Desert Water Agency (DWA), Indio Water Authority (IWA) and other local public water agencies across the valley have worked together to protect underground basins — a shared resource that supplies the majority of our drinking water. These local sources are particularly important in times of drought, when imported water is subject to drastic reductions. … ” Read more from the Desert Sun here:  Regional collaboration needed to keep the desert’s groundwater supply healthy

Walk into the office of any water law practitioner, anywhere, and you might think you made a wrong turn and walked into the office of your local cartographer. We are a profession that depends on, and you might even say reveres, a good map. Rights to water flowing in surface streams are fundamentally defined by geography, and maps have long been a requirement of appropriation and essential evidence of riparian ownership. In turn, injury to a surface water right is determined by physics, as the topography of the land establishes the linear relation of impacts from other diversions, whether it be upstream (cause), or downstream (affected). In homage to these principles, some hydrologists will orient their maps top-to-bottom as upstream to downstream, rather than north to south. In our practice, gravity is our compass.

Upending the convenient simplicity of rivers and streams flowing from mountaintop to ocean are alluvial and glacial valleys, in which unconsolidated sediment serve as giant sponges and blocks of fractured rock contain hidden stores of oftentimes ancient waters. Through these geologic features, hidden beneath the surface, water percolates, flows, and moves across the landscape. These subsurface waterbodies interconnect with surface streams and changes in the groundwater basin, whether due to drought or artificial extractions, and influence surface flow on a time scale ranging from minutes to centuries. To understand the relationship with any hope of precision, we need much more than a map; we need a hydrogeologist and a whole lot of data.

All of this is by way of introducing two themes of emerging law in California that stand to influence trends beyond the state: (1) the legal relevance of interconnected groundwater to surface flows in protecting instream uses, and (2) recognition in the law of the need to understand and manage these interconnected waters.

Continue reading at the American Bar Association here:  Maps, Models, and Mystery: Interconnected Groundwater and the Public Trust

Six regions of California that considered themselves to be managing groundwater sustainably have been informed otherwise by state officials, who rejected alternatives to preparation of groundwater sustainability plans for the regions. Three of the applicants have agreed to form groundwater sustainability agencies as required under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. The remaining three—in Humboldt, Lake and Napa counties—face decisions on how to proceed.

In all, the California Department of Water Resources reviewed alternative proposals for 15 groundwater basins or subbasins, and approved nine of the proposals.

The agencies that submitted alternatives must satisfy the objectives of SGMA, and demonstrate the basin has been operating sustainably for at least 10 years or has a well-defined plan to achieve sustainability within 20 years. The law, approved in 2014, requires local agencies overseeing basins ranked as medium or high priority to develop groundwater sustainability plans or submit an alternative.

Continue reading from Ag Alert here:  Groundwater: Agencies react to rejection of alternative plans

Jay Lund writes,

This week’s short post is on groundwater law – from the viewpoint of physics.  Water policy, management, and human law often misunderstand how groundwater and surface water work physically.

Bredehoeft, et al. (1982) distill a longstanding lament of many groundwater experts, “Perhaps the most common misconception in groundwater hydrology is that a water budget of an area determines the magnitude of possible groundwater development.  Several well-known hydrologists have addressed this misconception and attempted to dispel it.  Somehow, though, it persists and continues to color decisions by the water-management community.”

Continue reading at the California Water Blog here:  Groundwater Law – Physical – “the water budget myth”

Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District (Rosedale) and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) announced a joint pilot project today to build the first online, open-source groundwater trading platform in the Central Valley in response to the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.

An early design of the trading platform, which is being co-created by landowners, Rosedale and EDF, will be available in September. The platform will be further tested and refined this fall during a series of workshops and mock trading sessions prompted by various scenarios.

The preliminary schedule calls for a beta version of the platform to go live in early 2020 for the landowner group to test with real trades. A final version will go live for landowners in the Rosedale district in 2021.

Click to continue reading at the Environmental Defense Fund here: EDF and Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District to Build New Groundwater Trading Market

Susan Tatayon, chair of the Delta Stewardship Council, writes:

California has a vast water supply not just in its lakes, rivers, and estuaries, but also underground. For years, California’s cities and farms have depended on this unseen resource, especially in the southern part of the state where rainfall is low, surface water is scarce, and demand is high. In fact, underground aquifers provide about 40 percent of California’s water supply in a normal year and significantly more in dry years.

Groundwater is also something that, until recently, was largely absent from the state’s water management oversight; this changed in 2014 with the passage of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). For the first time in its history, California established minimum standards for sustainable groundwater management. If local resource managers fail to meet these standards, this legislation authorizes the state to intervene to protect groundwater basins. SGMA is an earth-shaking move toward managing California’s groundwater and surface water as an interconnected system.

This month has seen a flurry of SGMA-related activity. Following an extensive, two-year technical review, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) made its first SGMA determination, approving nine alternatives to groundwater sustainability plans (GSPs) and disapproving six plans. This initial determination is an important first test of SGMA and sets the bar for future GSPs and alternative plans ahead of a Jan. 31, 2020 deadline for Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) to submit their plans.

Continue reading at the Delta Stewardship Council blog here:  What Does Groundwater Have to Do with the Delta? A Lot.

Chico State, Stanford University helping county analyze water basin management:  “A Butte County project will expand its partnership with Chico State and Stanford University to analyze available groundwater systems.  The AEM project involves analysis of well logs, and hopes to expand the analysis using magnetics and a grid to fill in holes in the data. It’s a groundbreaking project for water management in the county, according to Paul Gosselin, director of the county’s water and resource management department. … ”  Read more from the Oroville Mercury-Register here: Chico State, Stanford University helping county analyze water basin management

Lake County to consider shifting Big Valley groundwater management:  “On Tuesday, the Lake County Board of Supervisors, sitting as the directors of the county’s watershed protection district, will consider forming a new groundwater management agency for the Big Valley basin. Lake County Water Resources Interim Director Scott de Leon writes that “In order to maintain local and sustainable management of the Big Valley groundwater basin, it is in the best interest for the County that the Board of Directors of the Lake County Watershed Protection District approve the resolution authorizing the District to from the Big Valley Groundwater Sustainability Agency.” … ”  Read more from the Lake County Record Bee here:  Lake County to consider shifting Big Valley groundwater management

Roseville: Groundwater basin recharged with 470 Olympic-sized pools worth of water:  “Increasingly, water management in California is a balancing act where solutions must knit together the needs of people, industry, farming, species and the environment. Managing water to benefit these multiple uses is hard enough if water was a stationary resource – but it’s not. Especially during the winter months, water managers confront complex decisions about when and where water is released from reservoirs for winter flood protection as well as environmental flows and supply needs throughout the year.  … ”  Read more from the City of Roseville here: Roseville: Groundwater basin recharged with 470 Olympic-sized pools worth of water

Lodi: Groundwater draft plan reaches milestone: Jane Wagner-Tyack writes, “An important but not widely-publicized local planning process reached a milestone with the July release of the draft Groundwater Sustainability Plan for the Eastern San Joaquin Subbasin. This is the public’s first chance to see how groundwater in this region may be managed for the next 20 years. … ”  Continue reading at the Lodi News-Sentinel here: Lodi: Groundwater draft plan reaches milestone

San Benito: Groundwater plan is moving along:  “Adopted in 2014, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) sets milestones that must be met to achieve groundwater sustainability. The law requires formation of local groundwater sustainability agencies—or GSAs—to guide groundwater management in basins and sub-basins classified by the state as medium- or high-priority. The local agencies must work together with groundwater users to develop groundwater sustainability plans (GSPs) that will guide decisions affecting groundwater use and fees.  The San Benito County Water District is the GSA for the North San Benito Basin and is preparing a GSP in partnership with Santa Clara Valley Water District (now known as Valley Water), for small areas of the basin that extend into Santa Clara County. ... ”  Read more from Benito Link here: San Benito: Groundwater plan is moving along

Thirsty for sustainability: Is Paso Robles any closer to solving its groundwater problem?:  “On a blistering hot July day in San Miguel, Robert Galbraith, 68, bends down and scoops up two handfuls of dry soil. He spreads his fingers and lets the dirt fall back to his fallowed ground.  The motion is symbolic of how Galbraith feels his family farm is slipping away from him.  A San Luis Obispo County policy regulating pumping from the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin has hamstrung how Galbraith can farm his land. … ”  Read more from New Times SLO here:  Thirsty for sustainability: Is Paso Robles any closer to solving its groundwater problem?

Owens Valley Groundwater Authority awaiting decision from Department of Water Resources:  “The tentative low priority status of the Owens Valley groundwater basin has only heightened the complexity of the Owens Valley Groundwater Authority’s meetings, not lowered them. The current nine board members opted to hold off on additional meetings until the state Department of Water Resources issues its final decision.  The delay will also give the members’ individual entities another chance to figure out if they want to proceed with a Groundwater Sustainability Plan and all the potential requirements of that plan. The snag in the delay is the deadline of January 31, 2022 when medium and above priority basins will have to have a plan in place. … ”  Read more from the Sierra Wave here: Owens Valley Groundwater Authority awaiting decision from Department of Water Resources

Ridgecrest: TAC takes a crack at latest groundwater model: “The Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority Technical Advisory Committee got a look at a new modeling scenario that could help define a groundwater sustainability plan required by the Department of Water Resources.  Jeff Helsley with Stetson Engineers, Inc., the Groundwater Authority’s water resources manager, provided the update during a meeting Thursday at Ridgecrest City Hall. The modeling scenario, labeled “Modified Water Buyout” is the sixth model to be developed, and is the modified version of a previous model identified as the most likely acceptable solution for stakeholders. … ”  Read more from the Ridgecrest Independent here: TAC takes a crack at latest groundwater model

Ridgecrest: Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority PAC meets today to discuss modeling scenario:  “The Policy Advisory Committee of the Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority meets today at 1 p.m. for a special meeting at Ridgecrest City Hall council chambers, 100 W. Ridgecrest Blvd.  The committee’s top agenda item will be the discussion of the latest groundwater modeling scenario, which provides possible guidelines and outlooks related to the goal of achieving a safe sustainable pumping yield required by the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014. ... ”  Read more from the Ridgecrest Independent here: Ridgecrest: PAC meets today to discuss modeling scenario

Tulare Irrigation District applies for groundwater grant:  “The Tulare Irrigation District is seeking a grant to develop a groundwater exchange market with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.  The grant would determine the viability of a water market for the Kaweah subbasin, which would involve the groundwater sustainability agencies managing the subbasin: Mid-Kaweah, Greater Kaweah and East Kaweah.  Paul Hendrix, the general manager for the Mid-Kaweah groundwater sustainability agency (GSA), said all three GSAs would be involved in developing a water market for the Kaweah subbasin and deciding how the market is shaped. ... ”  Read more from the Foothills Sun Gazette here: Tulare Irrigation District applies for groundwater grant

Bakersfield: Hard Rock casino could ease county’s water worries, officials say:  “As the Tejon Tribe casino makes its way through the regulatory process, concerns have been raised over the impact the complex will have on the county’s groundwater.  However, county officials believe the casino may actually use less water than the farms that currently occupy the planned site just south of Bakersfield. But questions do remain as to how much water the casino will actually need to operate. ... ”  Read more from Bakersfield.com here: Hard Rock casino could ease county’s water worries, officials say

Kern County: Groundwater trading program, first of its kind for Central Valley, is being designed:  “In a first for Kern County and the Central Valley, a groundwater trading program is being designed to help local growers meet new regulations under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act — which kicks in next year.  The Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District is working with the Environmental Defense Fund to develop a web-based platform growers can use to sell or buy units of groundwater.  New state regulations take effect in 2020 that essentially prohibit water districts in California from taking more water out of the ground than they can put back in on an annual basis. … ”  Read more from KGET here: Groundwater trading program, first of its kind for Central Valley, is being designed

San Bernardino Basin has record recharge:  “Nearing the end of the San Bernardino Basin area’s first water year with above average precipitation since 2010-11, San Bernardino Valley Water Conservation District reported more than 20 billion gallons of water captured, a new record for captured groundwater recharge.  This milestone was reached the last week of July, with two months left in the water year, and represents enough groundwater to serve 180,000 families for one year, according to a conservation district press release. ... ”  Read more from the Highland Community News here: San Bernardino Basin has record recharge

Minimum thresholds, measurable objectives, undesirable results: A panel of consultants discuss the specifics of how their GSAs determined sustainable management criteria

The passage of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in 2014 requires that groundwater basins be managed such that the use of groundwater can be maintained during the planning and implementation horizon without causing undesirable results.  In order to demonstrate sustainability, the Groundwater Sustainability Plan regulations require the development of locally-defined quantitative sustainable management criteria, including undesirable results, minimum thresholds, and measurable objectives.

At the second annual Groundwater Sustainability Agency Summit, hosted by the Groundwater Resources Association in June of this year, a panel of consultants discussed the process and the specifics of how they developed sustainable management criteria for their basins.

Click here to this article from Maven’s Notebook.

The Groundwater Game provides players with an interactive opportunity to experience the challenges of managing increasingly scarce groundwater when there are competing needs. The game also provides players with a greater understanding of different management tools, including groundwater trading.

The tool was co-developed through a social science research partnership with Environmental Defense Fund, University of Michigan professors Robert Goodspeed and Colleen Seifert, and Environmental Incentives in response to new groundwater legislation in California.

Click here to learn more about The Groundwater Game.

“When California adopted the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in 2014, it became the last Western state to regulate its groundwater. If local groundwater agencies fail to submit plans to the state by 2020, the law says state water agencies could take over management of groundwater, a resource that’s critically important to Valley agriculture.

Moderator Kathleen Schock got an update on how the work is progressing locally from Gary Serrato, executive director of the North Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency, Christina Beckstead, executive director of Madera County Farm Bureau, and David Orth with New Current Water and Land.”

Listen to radio show from KVPR here: Radio show: An Update On How The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act Is Working