Sustainable Groundwater Management Plans proposed regulations released

As outlined in the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) enacted by Governor Jerry Brown in 2014, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) has released proposed regulations to help guide local groundwater sustainability agency management and regulation of California’s groundwater basins.

DWR posted the proposed Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) on its website in advance of presenting them to the California Water Commission (CWC) at its May 18, 2016 meeting. The CWC is legislatively mandated to adopt GSP regulations by June 1, 2016.

The GSP regulations will move California toward successful enactment of SGMA and toward more sustainable management of the state’s groundwater supplies. Improving Sustainable Groundwater Management is a key element of the California Water Action Plan. The proposed regulations can be found at: http://www.water.ca.gov/groundwater/sgm/index.cfm.

DWR has acknowledged that, “An inherently technical and complex task, managing groundwater requires regulations that can address the goal of sustainability across such a geologically and hydrologically diverse state as California.” SGMA was intended to recognize that groundwater is best managed at the local level; each groundwater basin has unique characteristics and challenges.

Throughout 2015 to date, DWR has regularly met with more than a dozen SGMA advisory groups, conducted public meeting and webinars statewide and published papers to educate the public on groundwater sustainability. DWR worked to promote public discussion of the issue and to gather feedback. The proposed GSP regulations reflect the public’s engagement and reflect the perspectives of the advisory groups, statewide stakeholders, the general public, the State Water Resources Control Board and the California Water Commission.

DWR must ultimately evaluate the development and implementation of GSPs, alternatives and coordination agreements by local Groundwater Sustainability Agencies or local agencies.

In light of California’s on-going drought in many parts of the state, SGMA requires that high and medium priority basins identified as critically over-drafted must be managed under GSPs, adjudications or alternatives by January 31, 2020. All other high and medium priority basins must be managed under a GSP by January 31, 2022. Technical and financial assistance to help local agencies develop their plans is offered by DWR.
Groundwater supplies over a third of the water Californians use and as much as 60 percent or more in some areas during drought conditions. The SGMA requirements will help local agencies draft plans to bring groundwater aquifers into more balanced level of pumping and recharge, and to help communities prepare for future droughts and climate change.

Case in point – in August 2015 DWR released a new NASA report showing land in the San Joaquin Valley (SJV) sinking faster than ever before, up to nearly two inches per month in some locations. Current groundwater levels in the SJV are reaching record lows—up to 100 feet lower than previous records have indicated. Nearby infrastructure is at greater risk of costly damage if extensive groundwater pumping continues.