The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced that it has approved groundwater sustainability plans for 12 non-critically overdrafted groundwater basins across the state.
“We are impressed with the effort that local agencies have put into their groundwater sustainability plans. Since the plans in these 12 basins were adopted in 2022, the local agencies immediately began implementation and embraced groundwater sustainability. We look forward to supporting local agencies while they continue to improve their planning efforts,” said DWR Deputy Director of Groundwater Management Paul Gosselin. “We expect these plans to adapt over time to changing conditions. The climate-driven weather extremes we are experiencing amplify the need for long-term groundwater management planning to ensure a safe and reliable groundwater supply that can be accessed during both wet years and the driest years without causing negative impacts.”
The approved basins include Big Valley, Shasta Valley, Scott River Valley, East Side Aquifer, Forebay Aquifer, Langley Area, Monterey, Upper Valley Aquifer, San Jacinto, Upper Ventura River, San Luis Obispo Valley and Santa Margarita.
DWR has now made determinations for 36 groundwater basins. Of the 36, a total of 30 basins are approved, including the 12 basins released today.
Six basins were deemed inadequate and have transitioned to the State Water Resources Control Board intervention process. Additionally, DWR approved nine basins with alternatives to groundwater sustainability plans in July 2017.
The 12 basins approved today are among the non-critically overdrafted basins that submitted their plans to DWR in January 2022. Other groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs) in 47 basins that were required to submit plans in 2022 and currently have plans under review by DWR should anticipate additional determination releases throughout 2023.
The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) calls for local agencies to create GSAs and work with groundwater users to develop and implement plans to achieve the sustainability goals of groundwater basins over a 20-year period. These plans are expected to present a roadmap for how local agencies will reliably provide groundwater to their communities over the long-term.
DWR is charged with evaluating all plans to determine whether the plans substantially comply with the groundwater sustainability plan regulations and law, based on best available science and information, and whether implementation of the plans is reasonably likely to achieve the basin’s sustainability goal over the 20-year planning timeline of SGMA.
The release of assessments for these 12 approved basins provides direction to the local GSAs, including recommended actions, to ensure the basins remain on a path to long-term sustainability. DWR says that plans will be updated over time as new data and information becomes available and as conditions change in groundwater basins. DWR will also review annual reports from the GSAs and assess updated plans every five years to determine if the GSAs are on track to meet their basin’s long-term sustainability goal.
