Category Archives: Groundwater

Post-drought groundwater in California: Like the economy after a deep “recession,” recovery will be slow

Posted on March 19, 2017 by UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

by Thomas Harter The 2012-2016 drought has made many of us keenly aware of how “empty” our groundwater “reservoirs” have become. As the recent series of atmospheric rivers have left us with a massive snowpack, full surface water reservoirs (with … Continue reading →

Posted in Groundwater | Tagged | 10 Comments

Evaluating California’s Adjudicated Groundwater Basins in the SGMA Era

Posted on October 23, 2016 by UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

By Ruth Langridge, University of California – Santa Cruz [i] Groundwater is a critical resource in California. While the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) established new requirements and increased state oversight for many overdrafted basins,[ii] groundwater basins adjudicated before … Continue reading →

Posted in Groundwater | Tagged | 2 Comments

Scott Valley pioneers instream flow and groundwater management for reconciled water use

Posted on August 21, 2016 by UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

by Gus Tolley The Scott River is one of California’s four major undammed streams and important spawning habitat for coho (a species listed as “threatened”) and Chinook salmon. This peaceful and pastoral agricultural valley is at the center of several … Continue reading →

Posted in California Water, Groundwater, Planning and Management, Salmon, Uncategorized, Water Markets | Tagged | 5 Comments

Local groundwater management in France and California

Posted on July 31, 2016 by UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

by Corentin Girard   France and California have different environmental, agricultural, economic, institutional, and cultural contexts. However, both are moving to more local management of groundwater. In California, the 2014 Groundwater Sustainable Management Act required creation of  local Groundwater Sustainable … Continue reading →

Posted in Around the World, California Water, Groundwater, Planning and Management, Uncategorized | Tagged | 2 Comments

Better accounting begets better water management

Posted on July 24, 2016 by UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

by Jay Lund Sustainable use of groundwater in California will require major changes in groundwater management, use, and recharge.  Under the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, groundwater basins as a whole are responsible for sustainability.  But millions of people and … Continue reading →

Posted in California Water, Groundwater, Planning and Management, Sustainability, Uncategorized | Tagged | 4 Comments

SGMA and the Challenge of Groundwater Management Sustainability

Posted on May 15, 2016 by UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

By Bill Blomquist It isn’t just the groundwater that has to be sustainable; it’s the management too. That’s why the title of this post shifts from the more familiar “sustainable groundwater management” to “groundwater management sustainability.” This perspective doesn’t come … Continue reading →

Posted in Groundwater, Planning and Management | Tagged | 4 Comments

California’s Delta-Groundwater Nexus: Delta Effects of Ending Central Valley Overdraft?

Posted on April 17, 2016 by UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

By Timothy Nelson, Heidi Chou, Prudentia Zikalala, Jay Lund, Rui Hui, and Josué Medellín–Azuara Surface water and groundwater management are often tightly linked, even when linkage is not intended or expected. This link has special importance in drier regions, such … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, California Water, Delta, Groundwater, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

The Earth is Falling! – Land Subsidence and Water Management in California

Posted on December 27, 2015 by UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

By Jay Lund, Thomas Harter, Rob Gailey, Rick Frank, and Graham Fogg Groundwater problems are mostly invisible.  However, as California has come to rely more on groundwater during the drought, land subsidence from groundwater drawdown and accumulating overdraft has become … Continue reading →

Posted in California Water, Drought, Groundwater, Planning and Management, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

California’s groundwater – basics, laws, and beyond

Posted on December 7, 2015 by UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

By Chris Austin Groundwater has been receiving a lot of attention lately, and for good reason. California is the heaviest groundwater user in the nation, and our use is increasing after recent, multiple dry years. The Sustainable Groundwater Supply Act … Continue reading →

Posted in California Water, Groundwater, Planning and Management, Sustainability, Uncategorized | 9 Comments

Guidance for putting new groundwater law on the ground

Posted on August 26, 2015 by UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

By Thomas Harter, Vicki Kretsinger Grabert and Tim Parker A group that helps shape California groundwater policy has proposed several ideas for state consideration in implementing the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). The Contemporary Groundwater Issues Council of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Groundwater | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments