Assessing CA groundwater management one year after landmark legislation

Sep 17, 2015 at 12:00am

Water in the West, Standford, by Leon Szeptycki and Tara Moran

Commonly referred to as SGMA, the legislation created a statewide framework for sustainable groundwater management – and, potentially, regulation of groundwater pumping – for the first time in California’s history. The law does so by imposing a mandate for sustainable groundwater management on local agencies, but gives them a great deal of latitude in how to accomplish that objective. This legislative choice makes a great deal of sense, given the diversity of California’s landscape and the groundwater management problems across the state. Localities take the lead in dealing with groundwater overdraft in their basins, while the state can provide guidance and funding, and, if necessary, enforcement.

It is well worth marking this anniversary, but it is also important to note the barriers to SGMA’s implementation, and the work needed to overcome them. Groundwater management under SGMA will not formally begin until local agencies finalize their groundwater sustainability plans, beginning in 2020. In the meantime, fundamental problems with California’s groundwater management continue, including the ongoing decline of groundwater levels across the state and a highly fractured governance structure. Agencies implementing SGMA will have to cope with both challenges.

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