Category: Local, State, and Federal Policies and Legal Considerations

Replenishing Groundwater in the San Joaquin Valley

February 6, 2023 No Comments

The San Joaquin Valley—which has the biggest imbalance between groundwater pumping and replenishment in the state—is ground zero for implementing the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). Expanding groundwater recharge could help local water users bring their basins into balance and make a dent in the long-term deficit of nearly 2 million acre-feet per year.

The experience with recharge in 2017―the first wet year since the enactment of SGMA―offers valuable insights in how to expand recharge. A survey of valley water districts’ current recharge efforts revealed strong interest in the practice, and a number of constraints.

A Technical Framework for Increasing Groundwater Replenishment

February 6, 2023 No Comments

“A Technical Framework for Increasing Groundwater Replenishment” is a roadmap document for local agencies or groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs) to utilize when navigating how to develop groundwater replenishment projects. This document walks readers through the current landscape of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) and provides the context that, as part of SGMA implementation, groundwater replenishment will be an important component to how sustainability is achieved under SGMA. The technical framework provides the following considerations for how to develop groundwater replenishment projects.
• Financial – scoping the capital costs, operating costs, and water supply yield and cost
• Technical – identifying the source water, infrastructure needs and constraints, method of recharge, and specific locations for direct recharge
• Institutional – developing partnerships and agreements, and navigating water rights
• Administrative – contracting, applying for permits, and securing funding

The document includes additional resources that support the development of groundwater replenishment projects, as well as case studies of entities that are piloting their own replenishment projects.

Merced River Flood-MAR Reconnaissance Study Technical Memorandum 1 Plan of Study – Draft

February 6, 2023 No Comments

DWR, in partnership with the Merced Irrigation District (MID), is conducting a preliminary study using flood waters for managed aquifer recharge that can reduce flood risk, increase surface and groundwater supply reliability, and enhance ecosystems in the Merced River Basin. This Merced River Reconnaissance Study (study) is exploring the potential, feasibility, and effectiveness of Flood-MAR concepts, testing theories, and assessing strategies in overcoming barriers and challenges to project planning and implementation. The study will assess current conditions of the Merced River watershed and the vulnerability of these watershed management characteristics to a range of potential climate change futures. The study will also describe the public and private benefits that may be achieved through Flood-MAR strategies and quantify a range of benefits that Flood-MAR could provide in or adjacent to the Merced River watershed.

Groundwater Exchange website

February 6, 2023 No Comments

The Groundwater Exchange is a central, collaborative, and publicly accessible online resource center connecting water managers, water users, and community members with tools and resources to support the design and implementation of effective Groundwater Sustainability Plans under California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. ​The Groundwater Exchange is a program of the California Water Library and is a project of the Multiplier, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that helps us protect and foster a healthy, sustainable, resilient, and equitable world.

Check out the “groundwater recharge” page (https://groundwaterexchange.org/groundwater-recharge/) for resources specific to Flood-MAR.

Groundwater Resource Hub

February 2, 2023 No Comments

The purpose of the Groundwater Resource Hub is to help local agencies achieve sustainable groundwater management by providing the science and tools needed to help address nature’s water needs. Over time, the goal is to improve statewide and local understanding of nature’s groundwater needs to reduce uncertainties and therefore enhance sustainable groundwater management.

Groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDEs) are plant and animal communities that require groundwater to meet some or all of their water needs. California is home to a diverse range of GDEs including palm oases in the Sonoran Desert, hot springs in the Mojave Desert, seasonal wetlands in the Central Valley, perennial riparian forests along the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, and estuaries along the coast and in the Delta. These ecosystems rely on groundwater in California’s semi-arid climate, especially during dry summers and periods of drought. GDEs provide important benefits to California including habitat for animals, water supply, water purification, flood mitigation, erosion control, recreational opportunities and general enjoyment of California’s natural landscape.

DWR’s SGMA Best Management Practices and Guidance Documents

February 2, 2023 No Comments

This link is a one-stop shop for DWR’s SGMA-related Best Management Practices (BMPs) and Guidance Documents to assist Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) with developing Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs).

The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), Water Code Section 10729(d), directed DWR to “publish on its internet Web site best management practices for the sustainable management of groundwater,” by January 1, 2017. DWR developed and published 2 categories of information – Best Management Practices (BMPs) and Guidance Documents – to assist Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) with developing Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs).

BMPs and Guidance Documents are not substitutes for GSP Regulations or the statutory provisions of SGMA. With the exception of 2 specific BMPs addressed in the GSP Regulations (Section 352.2, Monitoring Protocols and Section 352.4, Data and Reporting Standards), SGMA and the GSP Regulations provide no direction or limitation with respect to what type of BMPs and Guidance Documents should be developed to assist GSAs with making sustainable groundwater management decisions. DWR may develop additional BMPs and Guidance Documents, or make revisions to the existing publications, as needed.

SGMA Data Viewer

February 2, 2023 No Comments

As part of DWR’s technical assistance to Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs), other water managers, and the public, DWR has developed the SGMA Data Viewer. The SGMA Data Viewer provides access to groundwater-related datasets that are organized by the requirements of SGMA and the Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) regulations for the purposes of supporting GSP development and implementation.

Currently, regional and statewide groundwater information is publicly available, however this information is collected and disseminated through a variety of portals and applications. The SGMA Data Viewer provides centralized data access that will improve coordination across the State and help GSAs meet the requirements of SGMA and the GSP regulations.

This site includes historical and current data on:
Groundwater levels
Groundwater storage
Water quality
Land subsidence
Interconnected surface water
Water budgets
Hydrogeological conceptual models
Reference layers

California Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA)

January 20, 2023 No Comments

The historic passage of SGMA in 2014 set forth a statewide framework to help protect groundwater resources over the long-term. SGMA is comprised from a three-bill legislative package, including AB 1739 (Dickinson), SB 1168 (Pavley), and SB 1319 (Pavley), and subsequent statewide Regulations. In signing SGMA, then-Governor Jerry Brown emphasized that “groundwater management in California is best accomplished locally.”

SGMA requires local agencies to form groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs) for the high and medium priority basins. GSAs develop and implement groundwater sustainability plans (GSPs) to avoid undesirable results and mitigate overdraft within 20 years.

DWR serves two roles to support local SGMA implementation:

1) Regulatory oversight through the evaluation and assessment of GSPs

2) Providing ongoing assistance to locals through the development of:

Best management practices and guidance
Planning assistance
Technical assistance
Financial assistance

Flood-MAR Research and Data Development Plan

September 15, 2022 No Comments

This Flood-MAR Research and Data Development Plan (R&DD Plan) presents the work of the Flood-MAR Research Advisory Committee (RAC), a multidisciplinary group of subject matter experts across 13 research themes. The RAC was tasked to identify the research, data, guidance, and tools necessary to support and expand the implementation of Flood-MAR projects. Well-formulated Flood-MAR projects can benefit Californians and the environment through improved water supply reliability, flood-risk reduction, drought preparedness, aquifer replenishment, ecosystem enhancement, subsidence mitigation, water quality improvement, working landscape preservation and stewardship, climate change adaptation, recreation, and aesthetics

Flood-MAR White Paper

September 15, 2022 No Comments

The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) prepared this white paper to explore opportunities to use flood water for managed aquifer recharge (Flood-MAR) because DWR recognizes the need to rehabilitate and modernize water and flood infrastructure in California. Large-scale implementation of Flood-MAR can fundamentally change how flood and groundwater management are integrated by using flood water resulting from, or in anticipation of, rainfall or snowmelt for groundwater recharge on agricultural lands and working landscapes, including but not limited to refuges, floodplains, and flood bypasses.