Kings River East GSA Groundwater Sustainability Plan

Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency (KREGSA) | December 13th, 2019

Kings River East GSA Groundwater Sustainability Plan (Revised)

Kings River East Groundwater Sustainability Agency (KREGSA) | July 5th, 2022

LA Sustainable Water Project: Los Angeles City-Wide Overview

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) | February 1st, 2018

This report assesses the potential to improve water quality standards while integrating complementary One Water Management practices that can increase potential local wat

This report assesses the potential to improve water quality standards while integrating complementary One Water Management practices that can increase potential local water supplies for the City of Los Angeles (the City).  This final report summarizes the current practices and future opportunities at the City-owned Water Reclamation Plants and underlying groundwater basins and highlights the importance of considering all aspects of integrated water management even when dealing with water quality or supply-focused projects. Implementing watershed-scale best management practice programs to meet stormwater permit requirements will significantly improve water quality in all watersheds.  However, additional mechanisms such as increasing Low Impact Development implementation and comprehensive source tracking and source control mechanisms will be required to potentially eliminate water quality exceedances.  There are multiple efforts occurring in the City and the region to increase the recharge of recycled water into the ground and the volumes of remediated groundwater extracted. This research further assessed the impacts of potential water supply portfolios, with greater volumes of locally-supplied water, on GHG emissions and energy needs of supplying LA’s water.  Conservation will be another powerful tool to decrease our dependence on imported water.  This research demonstrates the complex interrelationships between all aspects of urban water management, including, for example, stormwater management and local water supply.

LA Sustainable Water Project: Los Angeles River Watershed

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) | September 1st, 2017

The LA Sustainable Water Project: Los Angeles River Watershed report explores the potential to improve water quality standards while integrating complementary One Water M

The LA Sustainable Water Project: Los Angeles River Watershed report explores the potential to improve water quality standards while integrating complementary One Water Management practices that can increase potential local water supplies for the City of Los Angeles (the City) in the highly urbanized Los Angeles River (LAR) watershed.To assess the integrated water landscape in this watershed, the report also looks at current practices and future opportunities at the Donald C Tillman, LA Glendale, and Burbank Water Reclamation Plants (WRPs) and in the underlying Upper LA River Area (ULARA) adjudicated groundwater basins. Implementing watershed-scale best management practice programs to meet stormwater permit requirements will significantly improve water quality. However, additional mechanisms such as increasing Low Impact Development implementation and comprehensive source tracking and source control mechanisms will be required to potentially eliminate water quality exceedances. The 3 WRPs in the watershed currently discharge more than 30 million gallons per day of treated wastewater into the River; an increased focus on increasing local water supply could lead to a reduction in these discharges. The combination of increased stormwater capture and increased use of recycled water in the LAR watershed could lead to lower flows in the LAR and impact habitat and recreational uses; further study is needed to characterize potential impacts and identify optimal flows for the future of the LAR. The City is leading efforts in ULARA to increase the recharge of recycled water into theground by 30,000 acre feet per year and increase the volumes of remediated groundwater extracted by around 120,000 acre feet per year. This research demonstrates the complex interrelationships between all aspects of urban water management, including stormwater management and local water supply.

Land Subsidence in Santa Clara Valley, Alameda, San Mateo, and Santa Clara Counties California

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | January 31st, 1971

Land Transitions and Dust in the San Joaquin Valley

Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) | July 24th, 2022

The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) requires groundwater users to bring their basins into balance over the next two decades. In the San Joaquin Valley, this

The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) requires groundwater users to bring their basins into balance over the next two decades. In the San Joaquin Valley, this will mean taking more than 500,000 acres of agricultural land out of intensive irrigated production. Among other issues, this could potentially lead to air quality impacts if the lands become new sources of dust, especially windblown dust, which can have numerous negative short- and long-term health and environmental impacts. In addition, the changing climate may exacerbate risks as warmer temperatures can dry out soils and increase dust emissions. The overall air quality impact of transitioning agricultural land to new uses is nuanced, but proactive management can help to identify high-risk areas and at-risk communities, and direct effort and funding to the most cost-effective interventions.

Land Use/Water Supply Analysis Guidebook

Northern California Water Association | November 13th, 2008

The primary objective of the Land Use/ Water Supply Guidebook (Guidebook) is to provide members of the Northern California Water Association (NCWA) with practical inform

The primary objective of the Land Use/ Water Supply Guidebook (Guidebook) is to provide members of the Northern California Water Association (NCWA) with practical information to assist them with review or preparation of water supply and demand analyses as part of local land use planning processes. Through a broader understanding of the statutory requirements and relevant analytical methods, NCWA members can help ensure that Sacramento Valley land use planning efforts effectively consider water resources management issues. The Guidebook builds upon the successful efforts of the participants in the Sacramento Valley Integrated Regional Water Management Plan (IRWMP), which recognize that rapidly changing water use patterns in the Sacramento Valley are impacting business decisions. At the center of this change in Sacramento Valley water use patterns are the changes in land use in a historically agricultural region, driven primarily by urban development that is relying almost exclusively upon groundwater resources to meet new demands. Additionally, changing cropping patterns and managed wetlands may require additional water supplies. The Guidebook will highlight opportunities to maximize Sacramento Valley water resources and to avoid conflict by identifying the primary processes in California for linking water supply planning and land use planning at the local government level. The Guidebook focuses upon the water supply planning components in relevant land use planning documents, the assumptions used to develop the data and the conclusions, and considerations of the typical scope and depth of the required elements. By clearly identifying the range of reasonable assumptions, water managers, land use planners, special district board members, and local government staff and officials may effectively coordinate their efforts as part of the IRWMP and continue practicing integrated regional water management.

LandFlex Grant Program Guidelines

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | January 14th, 2023

The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) is administering the LandFlex Grant Program (LandFlex) through DWR’s Sustainable Groundwater Management (SGM) Grant P

The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) is administering the LandFlex Grant Program (LandFlex) through DWR’s Sustainable Groundwater Management (SGM) Grant Program. LandFlex (referred to as Ag Drought Relief) will award funds authorized by the California Budget Act of 2021 (Stats. 2021, ch. 44, § 25). This document contains DWR’s Guidelines and scoring criteria (Guidelines) for LandFlex. Climate change means that California needs to plan for a hotter, drier future. Long-term drought, fueled by climate change, has adversely affected the State’s water supplies, which includes groundwater availbility. In response to the Governor’s California’s Water Supply Strategy, Adapting to a Hotter, Drier Future, DWR will launch the LandFlex Program as a new and innovative tool to protect vulnerable drinking water wells. LandFlex will provide incentives to farmers to limit groundwater pumping in areas near communities reliant on vulnerable drinking water wells before they go dry. LandFlex combines traditional short-term fallowing incentives with the elimination of long-term unsustainable groundwater pumping, a unique approach to groundwater resilience. LandFlex is a program that will provide $25 million in block grants to local government agencies to grant to farmers who limit agricultural water use. Local government agencies will work directly with farmers in critically overdrafted (COD) basins (as identified in Bulletin 118) to identify lands that would reduce pumping impacts to nearby drinking water wells. Through financial incentives to farmers, LandFlex will provide multiple community benefits such as drinking water well relief, groundwater overdraft prevention, and climate resilience.

LandFlex Program’s Guidelines

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | December 8th, 2022

LandFlex is a program that will provide $25 million in block grants to local government agencies to grant to farmers who limit agricultural water use. Local government ag

LandFlex is a program that will provide $25 million in block grants to local government agencies to grant to farmers who limit agricultural water use. Local government agencies will work directly with farmers in critically overdrafted (COD) basins to identify lands that would reduce pumping impacts to nearby drinking water wells. Through financial incentives to farmers LandFlex will provide multiple community benefits such as drinking water well relief, groundwater overdraft prevention, and climate resilience. 

Landsat and Water—Case Studies of the Uses and Benefits of Landsat Imagery in Water Resources

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | March 20th, 2014

Water availability and allocation are issues gaining a great deal of attention, particularly in arid climates. Increases in population growth and recent droughts bring ur

Water availability and allocation are issues gaining a great deal of attention, particularly in arid climates. Increases in population growth and recent droughts bring urgency to measuring and monitoring water use in areas such as the western United States, where the majority of the water has already been allocated.  In the world of water resource management, Landsat has played a key role in providing objective and continuous data for the United States, particularly in the arid west. Water-related benefits of Landsat imagery are also reaped far beyond the United States’ borders in countries such as Chile, Australia, Morocco, Sudan, and Venezuela, which are using Landsat data to make informed decisions regarding natural resource allocation and use.