Sustainable Groundwater Management in California. DeeDee D Adamo State Water Resources Control Board

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1 Sustainable Groundwater Management in California DeeDee D Adamo State Water Resources Control Board

2 Groundwater Groundwater is a crucial part of our water supply in California. Sustainable groundwater management is essential to making local and regional water supplies reliable and resilient.

3 Storage 515 basins 10 times the capacity of California s surface storage Cost-effective, local storage

4 Supply 80% of Californians rely on groundwater About 15 MAF pumped per year 38% of California s total supply in average years

5 Drought Mitigation Savings Account Accounts for 60% 0f supply in dry years

6 Vital Resource Under Stress

7 Population Growth 50 million by 2050 Fastest growth in Central Valley and Inland Empire San Joaquin Valley to double in population, to 6 million, by 2060

8 Climate Change

9 Extended Drought

10 Unsustainable Groundwater Management Poor management = problems

11 Water Quality Seawater intrusion in coastal areas

12 Overdraft When groundwater removal exceeds groundwater recharge

13 Declining Groundwater Levels Historical lows for most areas of state Many areas of the SJ Valley have dropped below 100 feet

14 Subsidence Permanent loss of water storage Damage to infrastructure and water delivery systems

15 Subsidence

16 Ecosystem Impacts

17 Call to Action

18 The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 Requires sustainable groundwater management Promotes local control

19 Key Principles: Groundwater best managed at the local/regional level Groundwater needs to be managed sustainably Local agencies should have necessary authority & tools State assistance and oversight intervention only when needed

20 The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 Requires GW sustainability plans in high- and mediumpriority basins Authorizes management tools for local agencies Creates state backstop Defines time frame for accomplishing goals

21 New Local Management Tools Requires creation of groundwater sustainability agencies Empowers GSAs to: Register groundwater wells Measure extractions Require reports Manage extractions Assess fees Exempts preparation of local groundwater sustainability plans from CEQA Establishes sustainability goal over time to guide management

22 Time Frame for Success Time Action 6/30/2017 Formation of GSAs 1/31/2020 Completion of GSPs in critically overdrafted basins 1/31/2022 Completion of GSPs in all other basins 20-year implementation period Implementation of GSPs under local management Checking these boxes shields local managers from state intervention

23 Backstop - State Board Intervention After June 30, 2017 Jan. 31, 2020 Cause of Intervention No GSA In critically overdrafted basins, no GSP or GSP is inadequate Jan. 31, 2022 Jan. 31, 2025 In other basins, no GSP or GSP is inadequate and basin is in long-term overdraft GSP is inadequate and significant depletions of interconnected surface waters In all triggering events, intervention is the result of a failure by the locals to create a GSA, or to adopt and adequately implement a GSP.

24 Adequate Plans: Sustainable Groundwater Management Management and use of groundwater in a manner that can be maintained during the planning and implementation horizon without causing undesirable results.

25 Undesirable Results: Chronic lowering of groundwater levels (not including overdraft during a drought, if a basin is otherwise managed); AND Significant and unreasonable: reductions in groundwater storage seawater intrusion degradation of water quality land subsidence surface water depletions adversely impacting beneficial uses

26 Department of Water Resources Designate basins as high, medium, low or very low priority (Jan. 31, 2015) Adopt regulations for basin boundary adjustments (Jan. 1, 2016 ) Adopt regulations for evaluating adequacy of plans and agency coordination agreements (June 1, 2016 ) Provide technical assistance, publish estimates of water available for replenishment and groundwater BMPs Evaluate and assess GSPs

27 Summary Legislation is key; but implementation is critical Sustainable management best accomplished at local/regional level State s role complements local sustainable groundwater management Sustainable water systems will strengthen local communities, ag and urban economies, and the environment for future generations

28 Thank you DeeDee D'Adamo, Sate Water Board Member For more information: groundwater.ca.gov information on legislation to be posted soon DWR Groundwater Information Center (2014 Groundwater Report) ater State Water Resources Control Board groundwater page