For the first time in California history, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) empowers local agencies to adopt groundwater management plans that are tailored to the resources and needs of their communities. Good groundwater management will provide a buffer against drought and climate change, and contribute to reliable water supplies regardless of weather patterns. California depends on groundwater for a major portion of its annual water supply, and sustainable groundwater management is essential to a reliable and resilient water system. The California Groundwater website offers links and news from state, local and non-governmental agencies.
Links to resources from Department of Water Resources, the Water Board and our partners to implement SGMA.
The Groundwater Act Blog (GAB) features guest posts on a variety of groundwater issues.
GSP Regulations Approved by Water Commission
Proposed Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) Emergency Regulations Released
DWR released the proposed GSP Emergency Regulation son May 11, 2016. The proposed GSP Emergency Regulations will be presented to the California Water Commission on May 18, 2016, for consideration and adoption. Once the emergency regulations are adopted the Notice of Proposed Emergency Rulemaking will be distributed and posted on the DWR’s website and submitted to the Office of Administrative Law. The proposed GSP Emergency Regulations are available at http://water.ca.gov/groundwater/sgm/gsp.cfm.
Draft Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) Emergency Regulations Public Comment Meetings
The Department of Water Resources (DWR) Sustainable Groundwater Management Program will host three required public meetings and a statewide webinar to solicit comments on the Draft GSP Emergency Regulations. Local agencies and interested parties are encouraged to attend, listen, and provide comments. The deadline to submit written comments has been extended to April 1, 2016. For more information and meeting dates, see flyer.
New Report on Criteria for GSA’s Available in Toolbox
UC Berkeley released a new report, Designing Effective Groundwater Sustainability Agencies: Criteria for Evaluation of Local Governance Options, to assist stakeholders and decision makers in evaluating the design of GSAs. The report is available in the toolbox.
Draft Regulations for Managing Groundwater Sustainably
DWR released draft regulations to assist local agencies in managing and regulating groundwater basins as outlined in the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. The public comment period extends through March 25. Press Release draft regulations
An Evaluation of California's Adjudicated Groundwater Basins
A new report by the University of California, Santa Cruz evaluates the history and current condition of California's adjudicated groundwater basins and how management of these basins can be improved. Report
Submit Basin Boundary Modification Requests Through March
Local agencies may submit basin boundary modification requests through March 31, 2016. DWR has established a series of supporting documents to guide users through the process, and they can be found at the Basin Boundary Modifications website.
