Aquifer depletion the topic of proposed legislation

Senator Lois Wolk (D-Davis) introduced Senate Bill 1317, commonly known as the Aquifer Protection Act last week which requires cities and counties overlying high and medium priority basins to apply conditions to permits for new wells by July 1, 2017, to prevent undesirable impacts on aquifers. The bill also prohibits new well permits in basins of critical overdraft and basins that are in probationary status.

“This is a serious problem that affects everyone, and it is getting worse. New investors are coming onto lands that have never before been farmed, planting permanent crops, and tapping into already overdrafted aquifers to support these significant new water demands.” Wolk said in a statement.

Wolk proposed the legislation following a legislative hearing on Friday that had to do with the implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).

“Today’s hearing made clear that the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act will serve to provide long term management of the state’s ground water supplies. But, in the near term, whole communities are seeing wells dry up, infrastructure cracking as the ground below it sinks, and new wells drilled every day,” Wolk said. “The state has mapped 21 critically overdrafted basins, but we have no way to stop new wells from tapping into these shrinking aquifers. California still has no mechanism to protect that groundwater supply and our aquifers against permanent damage by unmitigated, rapid groundwater withdrawals. We need to stop digging deeper in critical areas that are sinking while we figure out how to manage this serious problem and these aquifers sustainability in the long term.”

Wolk also introduced bill Senate Bill 1318 which will require cities and special districts to make safe drinking water and wastewater services available to existing disadvantaged communities within their political boundaries before extending services to other areas.