Groundwater is a critical water supply source for many communities and an essential back-up source of water during droughts. Over a century, the volume of groundwater withdrawn generally exceeded recharge with concomitant negative impacts to vulnerable communities and the resource. Climate change projections of increased temperatures and more extreme droughts will exacerbate impacts. In 2014, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) established new requirements for high and medium-priority groundwater basins in overdraft or vulnerable to overdraft to develop sustainable management programs with state oversight. But adjudicated basins are exempt from SGMA with limited exceptions. Adjudicated basins encompass a very large area of Southern California where sustainable groundwater management is critical due to limited precipitation and climate change projections of reduced imported surface water supplies relied on by many areas, and where there are a large number of disadvantaged communities (DACs). This project will analyze whether and how adjudicated basins are aligning with SGMA sustainability goals and whether Watermasters are incorporating vulnerable communities and DACs into decision-making processes and will detail potential institutional and management strategies to better achieve state goals.
Report Information
CCCA5-CNRA-CCRP-P66
Lead Principal Investigator: Ruth Langridge
Lead Organization: The Regents of the University of California, Santa Cruz
The full report will be available soon.