Sustainable Groundwater Management

Transcription

1 Sustainable Groundwater Management Thomas Harter University of California Davis

2 Photo: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

3 Veronica Rocha / Los Angeles Times

4 Brad Zweerink for Earth Justice

5 Jim Wilson/ The New York Times

6 Jim Wilson/ The New York Times

7 Jim Wilson/ The New York Times

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9 Annual P [inches]

10 Annual P [inches] Tri-annual P [inches]

11 Cumulative Precipitation October - September WETTEST DRIEST California DWR, 2015

12 Drought History California Department of Water Resources; Drought Response Update Fall 2014

13 Lake County Historic Records

14 RAIN > 50 in Space and Time Disconnect between Water Supply and Water Use ~15 in WATER USERS < 5 in

15 California s Water Users Irrigated Agriculture 9.5 million acres (4 million ha) applied water use: MAF (35 45 km 3 ) CDFA, 2003 Population 38 million people water use: 8 MAF (10 km 3 ) Environment & protected streams, wetlands: 45 MAF (55 km 3 ) MAF = million acre-feet

16 California Water Plan, Bulletin about 9 M irrigated acres California Water Infra-structure: Bridging the Spatial and Temporal Disconnect between SUPPLY and USE Total reservoir storage: 40 MAF (50 km 3 )

17 Central Water Hub: Sacramento San Joaquin Delta California Water Plan, Bulletin

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19 Sediments => result of erosion, water, wind, lake deposition, ocean bay deposition fractured bedrock of California s mountain ranges

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28 CDM, Lake County GWMP, 2006

29 Groundwater Basins in Lake County CDM, Lake County GWMP, 2006

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37 Monthly Landscape Water Budget October September NORMAL Tule River Basin, Tulare County groundwater extraction river water rain crops/plants recharge Ruud, Harter et al., 2003, 2004

38 Monthly Landscape Water Budget October September NORMAL Tule River Basin, Tulare County groundwater extraction river water rain crops/plants WET recharge Ruud, Harter et al., 2003, 2004

39 DRY Monthly Landscape Water Budget October September NORMAL Tule River Basin, Tulare County groundwater extraction river water rain crops/plants WET recharge Ruud, Harter et al., 2003, 2004

40 extraction DRY YEAR WET YEAR From: DWR California Water Plan Draft (Bulletin )

41 Estimating Groundwater Flows Across Subbasin / Political Boundaries water districts Groundwater Imports recharge map Ruud et al,. 2003;

42 Lake County Water Infra-structure: Bridging the Spatial and Temporal Disconnect between SUPPLY and USE about 0.23 M irrigated acres Total reservoir storage: 0.75 MAF CDM, Lake County GWMP, 2006

43 Lake County Water Infra-structure: Bridging the Spatial and Temporal Disconnect between SUPPLY and USE about 0.23 M irrigated acres Total reservoir storage: 0.75 MAF CDM, Lake County GWMP, 2006

44 Agricultural Land and Water Demand TOTAL 2,600 13,100 16,000 8,700 21,500 30,200 CDM, Lake County GWMP, 2006

45 CDM, Lake County GWMP, 2006

46 CDM, Lake County GWMP, 2006

47 CDM, Lake County GWMP, 2006

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51 Scotts & Big Valley Groundwater Levels CDM, Lake County GWMP, 2006

52 Collayami & Long Valley Groundwater Levels modified from: Lake County Groundwater Management Plan 2006

53 Coyote Valley Groundwater Levels Modified from: Lake County Groundwater Management Plan 2006

54 Groundwater Levels during Drought 10 ft/y 10 ft/y 15 ft/y

55 Groundwater Levels during Drought 40 ft/y

56 California Groundwater Rights: Background Correlative Rights Doctrine safe yield of groundwater basin shared by overlying users o Katz v. Wilkinshaw, 1908 California constitutional mandate for beneficial use (1928) Special districts (20 different types, about 2,300 districts) o Water districts, irrigation districts, private water companies, reclamation districts, water conservation districts, water replenishment districts, water storage districts, etc. County police power controls groundwater exports o Baldwin vs. Tehama County, 1994 The Courts: basin adjudication / physical solution controls extraction o Many Southern California (sub)basins, mid 20 th century o City of Barstow vs. Mojave Water Agency, 2000: Right of water users to negotiate physical equitable, practical solution, regardless of water rights Individual water rights holders cannot be forced into a voluntary agreement

57 California Groundwater Rights: Background Correlative Rights Doctrine safe yield of groundwater basin shared by overlying users o Katz v. Wilkinshaw, 1908 California constitutional mandate for beneficial use (1928) Special districts (20 different types, about 2,300 districts) o Water districts, irrigation districts, private water companies, reclamation districts, water conservation districts, water replenishment districts, water storage districts, etc. County police power controls groundwater exports o Baldwin vs. Tehama County, 1994 The Courts: basin adjudication / physical solution controls extraction o Many Southern California (sub)basins, mid 20 th century o City of Barstow vs. Mojave Water Agency, 2000: Right of water users to negotiate physical equitable, practical solution, regardless of water rights Individual water rights holders cannot be forced into a voluntary agreement State groundwater management: o Voluntary local groundwater management plans: AB 3030 (1992) o Financial incentives for local groundwater management: SB 1938 (2002) o Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014: mandatory & expanded local control

58 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 SEC. 2. Section 113 is added to the Water Code, to read: 113. It is the policy of the state that groundwater resources be managed sustainably for long-term reliability and multiple economic, social, and environmental benefits for current and future beneficial uses. Sustainable groundwater management is best achieved locally through the development, implementation, and updating of plans and programs based on the best available science. [emphasis added]

59 Sustainability = No Undesirable Results Unless the context otherwise requires, the following definitions govern the construction of this part: (u) Sustainable groundwater management means the management and use of groundwater in a manner that can be maintained during the planning and implementation horizon without causing undesirable results. (w) Undesirable result means one or more of the following effects caused by groundwater conditions occurring throughout the basin (Section (w)): (1) Chronic lowering of groundwater levels indicating a significant and unreasonable depletion of supply if continued over the planning and implementation horizon. Overdraft during a period of drought is not sufficient to establish a chronic lowering of groundwater levels if extractions and recharge are managed as necessary to ensure that reductions in groundwater levels or storage during a period of drought are offset by increases in groundwater levels or storage during other periods. (2) Significant and unreasonable reduction of groundwater storage. (3) Significant and unreasonable seawater intrusion. (4) Significant and unreasonable degraded water quality, including the migration of contaminant plumes that impair water supplies. (5) Significant and unreasonable land subsidence that substantially interferes with surface land uses. (6) Surface water depletions that have significant and unreasonable adverse impacts on beneficial uses of the surface water. [emphasis added]

60 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act: Goals SEC. 3. Part 2.74 (commencing with Section 10720) is added to Division 6 of the Water Code, to read: PART Sustainable Groundwater Management CHAPTER 1. General Provisions This part shall be known, and may be cited, as the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act In enacting this part, it is the intent of the Legislature to do all of the following: (a) To provide for the sustainable management of groundwater basins. (b) To enhance local management of groundwater consistent with rights to use or store groundwater and Section 2 of Article X of the California Constitution. It is the intent of the Legislature to preserve the security of water rights in the state to the greatest extent possible consistent with the sustainable management of groundwater. (c) To establish minimum standards for sustainable groundwater management. (d) To provide local groundwater agencies with the authority and the technical and financial assistance necessary to sustainably manage groundwater. (e) To avoid or minimize subsidence. (f) To improve data collection and understanding about groundwater. (g) To increase groundwater storage and remove impediments to recharge. (h) To manage groundwater basins through the actions of local governmental agencies to the greatest extent feasible, while minimizing state intervention to only when necessary to ensure that local agencies manage groundwater in a sustainable manner. [emphasis added]

61 Role of the State: Carrot Department of Water Resources has a key role: o o Technical assistance and funding (Prop 1: $100 million for SGMA) Regulation Groundwater basin boundary adjustments Minimum guidelines for appropriate GSP o Control Review and approve GSPs Review implementation

62 Role of the State: Carrot & Stick Department of Water Resources has a key role: o Technical assistance and funding (Prop 1: $100 million for SGMA) o o Regulation Groundwater basin boundary adjustments Minimum guidelines for appropriate GSP Control Review and approve GSPs Review implementation State Water Resources Control Board: o Enforcement where local control fails (after 2017) pobabationary status Public hearing and 180 days to fix the problem o o After 180 days: SWRCB poses as interim GSA Groundwater extraction reporting mandatory Possibly temporary control of groundwater extraction Development and implementation of interim GSP When locals are ready: get authority back from state

63 So What Exactly Will Happen? First Step: forming a Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) o By June 2017

64 Medium and High Priority Groundwater Basins California Department of Water Resources, 2015

65 Lake County: GW Basin Priority (DWR)

66 Existing Groundwater Management Plans: Inventory and Assessment (No or Limited Implementation) California Department of Water Resources, 2015

67 Who can be a GSA? Exempt: o o Adjudicated basins (mostly in southern CA) Functional equivalent of a GSA, adjudicated basin Any local public agency o o o o Cities Counties Water / irrigation districts NEW special acts districts (created by legislature, then CEQA, LAFCO, public vote) => Paso Robles

68 GSA Formation: What s Next Stimulate dialogue / communication among local agencies, key stakeholders (e.g., Farm Bureau) Engage broad range of interested parties Gather information about the basin / find out where the information is / what is available Understand what Groundwater Sustainability Planning entails Consider facilitation services Look over the fence and see what s happening elsewhere Transparency, transparency, transparency DEADLINE: June 30, 2017

69 So What Exactly Will Happen? First Step: forming a Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) o By June 2017 Second Step: developing a Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) o Within 5 years of GSA formation

70 Key Elements of (Local/regional) California Groundwater Management Plans Context / Basin Description Public and agency involvement Basin management objectives Monitoring Accountability and review Sustainable Groundwater Mgmt Act: Enforcement mandate Empowerment for demand management (in addition to supply management) Integration with surface water management Integration with water quality management (source control, remediation, containment) Integration with landuse planning Local control / enforcement, with state oversight / enforcement

71 Groundwater Management Portfolio: Overview Data collection, monitoring, modeling, assessment Supply management Demand management Stakeholder engagement and management

72 DWR, California Water Plan Update 2013 From: Ted Johnson, WRD 2013

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74 Orange County: Groundwater Recharge Portfolio Orange County Water District, 2014

75 Seawater Intrusion Orange County Water District, 2014

76 Storage for Local Use: Santa Clara Valley Water District

77 Well Near a Stream

78 Well Near a Stream

79 Well Near a Stream

80 Well Near a Stream

81 Well Near a Stream

82 Well Near a Stream

83 Well Near a Stream

84 Well Near a Stream

85 Well Near a Stream

86 Well Near a Stream

87 Well Near a Stream

88 Well Near a Stream

89 Well Near a Stream

90 Well Near a Stream

91 Groundwater Banking for Environmental Flows: Scott Valley, Siskiyou County Foglia et al., WRR 2013

92 Groundwater Management Tools for Regional Organization Limiting Groundwater Use / Mandates: o o o o o Limit extraction Mandate reductions in current pumping Limit construction of new wells Requiring water conservation measures Fees to support management/infrastructure/communication efforts Infrastructure measures: o o o o o o Water efficiency projects Wastewater treatment and recycling Importing water Conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater Groundwater banking Monitoring networks, data collection, and data analysis/modeling Communication and networking measures o o o o Facilitate stakeholder participation Education Data analysis and reporting Secure funding (grants, project applications,.)

93 California Groundwater Rights: Background Correlative Rights Doctrine safe yield of groundwater basin shared by overlying users o Katz v. Wilkinshaw, 1908 California constitutional mandate for beneficial use (1928) Special districts (20 different types, about 2,300 districts) o Water districts, irrigation districts, private water companies, reclamation districts, water conservation districts, water replenishment districts, water storage districts, etc. County police power controls groundwater exports o Baldwin vs. Tehama County, 1994 The Courts: basin adjudication / physical solution controls extraction o Many Southern California (sub)basins, mid 20 th century o City of Barstow vs. Mojave Water Agency, 2000: Right of water users to negotiate physical equitable, practical solution, regardless of water rights Individual water rights holders cannot be forced into a voluntary agreement State groundwater management: o Voluntary local groundwater management plans: AB 3030 (1992) o Financial incentives for local groundwater management: SB 1938 (2002) o Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014: mandatory & expanded local control => if local/regional control fails: State Water Resources Control Board The Courts o Streamlined adjudication (legislation in 2015?)

94 So What Exactly Will Happen? First Step: forming a Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) o By June 2017 Second Step: developing a Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) o Within 5 years of GSA formation Third Step: implementing Groundwater Sustainability Plan o achieve sustainable management no later than 2040

95 Online Resources (California DWR groundwater level monitoring program (California DWR drought information) (California groundwater quality information) (miscellaneous groundwater information sources) Contact Dr. Thomas Harter at

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97 Population Map of the World & Major GW Withdrawal Centers Modified with world population map from: Nature 439, 800 (16 February 2006) doi: /439800a

98 Dubrovsky et al., USGS, 2010

99 Nitrate: Impacted regions within the Central Valley red dots: wells above MCL for nitrate CVSALTS, Tasks 7 and 8 Salt and Nitrate Analysis for the Central Valley Floor Final Report, December 2013 Figure 7-14

100 Nitrate and salinity dynamics in the Central Valley CVSALTS, Tasks 7 and 8 Salt and Nitrate Analysis for the Central Valley Floor Final Report, December 2013 Figure

101 Septic Systems

102 Total Cropland N Inputs: 380,000 Gg N/yr Atmosphere Synthetic Irrigation water Atmosphere Runoff Cropland Mass Balance Leaching to Groundwater Fertilizer Biosolids Effluent Poultry, Swine Dairy Manure [not including alfalfa cropland] Harvest Total Cropland N Outputs: 380,000 Gg N/yr 18

103 Partial Nutrient Balance kg N/ha/crop 1 kg N/ha/crop = 0.9 lbs N/ac/crop Harter, Lund et al, 2012

104 Agricultural Source Reduction Increase crop N-use efficiency -- Decrease deep percolation Basic Components Management Measures 50 Practices Perform system evaluation and monitoring 3 Improve irrigation and drainage systems Improve fertilizer and manure use Improve Irrigation scheduling 4 Improve irrigation system design and operation 13 Other irrigation infrastructure improvements 2 Improve rate, timing, and placement 15 Change crop rotation Modify crop rotation or grow cover crops 4 Improve storage and handling Avoid fertilizer material and manure spills during transport, storage and application 9 Dzurella and Pettygrove, 2014

105 Regulating Water Pollution Sources Point Sources of Pollution 1970s - now Clean Water Act: NPDES Permits Surface Water Quality Ground Water Quality Nonpoint Sources of Pollution

106 Regulating Water Pollution Sources Point Sources of Pollution 1970s - now Clean Water Act: NPDES Permits Surface Water Quality 1980s - now Superfund, TSCA, RCRA, FIFRA Ground Water Quality Nonpoint Sources of Pollution

107 Regulating Water Pollution Sources Point Sources of Pollution 1970s - now Clean Water Act: NPDES Permits Surface Water Quality 1980s - now Superfund, TSCA, RCRA, FIFRA Ground Water Quality 2000s - now Clean Water Act: TMDL Nonpoint Sources of Pollution

108 Focus: Enforcement Monitoring Example of Working with a Regulation: Speed Limit Responsible Party: Driver Feedback: Speedometer Management Tool: Brakes Enforcement: Radar Controls

109 Why is Nonpoint Source Pollution Different from Point Source Pollution of Groundwater? Scale o Millions of acres vs acres Intensity o Within ~1 order magnitude above MCL vs. many orders of magnitude above MCL Hydrologic Function o Recharge vs. non-leaky Frequency o Ongoing/seasonally repeated vs. incidental Heterogeneity & Adjacency

110 Focus: Enforcement Monitoring Applying Point Source Approach to Nonpoint Source: Responsible Party: Landowner Feedback: missing Management Tool: $$$ agronomic Enforcement: Monitoring Wells

111 Key Elements to Future Groundwater Monitoring of NPS Three-track monitoring: o Enforcement: Monitor/report key outcomes of farm management practices, e.g., annual nitrogen budgets proxy for measuring groundwater discharge o Research: link proxy monitoring to actual groundwater discharge at intensely monitored sites & using models (mgmt practice evaluation) o Assurance: Regional trend monitoring network (e.g., GAMA)

112 STEP 1: GROUNDWATER ASSESSMENT High Vulnerability Areas: Key Criteria (ESJV Coalition) Hydrogeologically high vulnerability o statistical analysis of groundwater nitrate occurrence based on hydrogeology, soils, depth to groundwater, landscape slope, recharge Further prioritization (high 1, medium 2, low 3): o o Exceedances of water quality objectives, Proximity to areas contributing recharge to urban and rural communities that rely on groundwater as a source of supply, o Existing field and operational practices that are possibly the cause or source of groundwater quality degradation, o The largest acreage commodity types comprising up to at least 80 percent of irrigated agriculture in the high vulnerability areas, o Legacy or ambient groundwater conditions,

113 STEP 2: MONITORING (three-pronged) A: PROXY MONITORING: FARM NITROGEN FLUXES Eastern San Joaquin Valley

114 Focus: Enforcement Monitoring Responsible Party: Landowner Alternative Monitoring Approach to Nonpoint Source: Enforcement: Annual Nitrogen Budget Feedback: + Nutrient/Water Monitoring Management Practice & Assessment Assessment + Management Tool: Regional Trend Monitoring Water and Nutrient Management

115 Regulating Water Pollution Sources Point Sources of Pollution 1970s - now Clean Water Act: NPDES Permits 1980s - now Superfund, TSCA, RCRA, FIFRA Surface Water Quality 2000s - now Clean Water Act: TMDL Nonpoint Sources of Pollution Ground Water Quality 1980s now CA pesticide contamination prevention act 2010s - future CA Porter-Cologne: Dairy Order ILRP/Ag Orders CV-SALTS

116 Moving Towards Better Control of Nonpoint Sources (NPS) of Groundwater: Needs SCIENCE NEEDS o NPS source control methods o NPS pollution soil/groundwater fate, transport o NPS pollution assessment, monitoring tools REGULATORY FRAMEWORK o Enforcement: Paradigm shift in monitoring approaches AGRICULTURE (largest NPS) o Socio-cultural change needed to work within new regulatory frameworks

117 Summary of Key Challenges to Viticulture Participate and facilitate local GSA forming by engaging, informing stakeholders Increasing recharge in agriculture: Develop management practices to replace poor irrigaton efficiency with high irrigation efficiency AND clean groundwater recharge Identify public well source areas and focus N management on those areas => great place to have vineyards with low N input Participate in ILRP coalitions: management practice evaluations that INCLUDE deep soil and/or groundwater N flux measurements Participate in ILRP coalitions: regional trend monitoring networks

118 Online Resources (California DWR groundwater level monitoring program (California DWR drought information) (California groundwater quality information) (miscellaneous groundwater information sources) Contact Dr. Thomas Harter at

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