Groundwater Management
California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) provides a statewide framework for local groundwater management in California. Passed in 2014, the landmark legislation requires newly formed groundwater agencies to write and adopt Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSP) to improve groundwater conditions. Below are some resources to aid in understanding the implications of SGMA. I provide information here regarding: (1) the content of a groundwater sustainability plan, (2) the costs associated with different management strategies for achieving groundwater sustainability, and (3) the implications for agriculture.
Groundwater Sustainability Plans
Groundwater Exchange is a collaborative online platform to share information related to the implementation of SGMA.
The SGMA Demand Management Action Database that I created with Arthur Wardle enables anyone to access data on the demand management strategies being proposed in GSPs under SGMA.
Demand and Supply Management
This Global Water Forum article discusses the potential for supply-side (recharge) strategies statewide.
Check out these relevant ARE Discussions webinars:
Groundwater Markets
Managed Aquifer Recharge
Lessons from Fisheries Management
Land Fallowing and Impacts to Agriculture
How will climate change and SGMA shape the agricultural landscape of 2050? Read more here.
Check out these relevant UC ANR Water Webinars:
Water Economics
Ellen Bruno, UC Berkeley
Frontiers in Groundwater Management
Thomas Harter, UC Davis
The Global Value of Water in Agriculture
Paolo D’Odorico, UC Berkeley
Ellen Bruno 