Gone. Decades of greed, neglect, corruption, and bad politics led to last year’s Paradise fire, the worst in California history. It should never have happened. It will happen again.

California Sunday Magazine | July 31st, 2019

By the time I made it to Paradise, the deadliest wildfire in California history was four months past, and the burned-out ridge between the two river canyons was pouring

By the time I made it to Paradise, the deadliest wildfire in California history was four months past, and the burned-out ridge between the two river canyons was pouring rain. I was riding the Skyway, the road from Chico to Paradise, flatland to hilltop, trying to understand what forces had conspired last November to create a blaze of such anger that it took the lives of 85 people and destroyed 19,000 structures. I had puzzled out enough disasters to know that tragedy was a force of intricate construction. It wasn’t one detached act that materialized as tragedy but myriad smaller acts — some incidental, some accidental, others malevolent — that lined up in perfect continuity. Had one circumstance in the sequence lost its footing, a cosmic stumble, the next circumstance would have never hitched on, and tragedy would have been averted.

Governing California Through Climate Change

Little Hoover Commission | July 1st, 2014

State government, which guided California through the instability of the Great Depression, managed the profound disruptions of World War II and steered, during following

State government, which guided California through the instability of the Great Depression, managed the profound disruptions of World War II and steered, during following decades, one of the nation’s great population, development and innovation booms, faces again an historic governing challenge in climate change. A $2 trillion annual economy and the needs of nearly 40 million residents ride on the outcome of the state’s preparations and response. Climate change, which most scientists believe has already begun, promises decades of wilder weather and great uncertainty regarding the scale of annual precipitation, wildfire activity, sea level rise and daily temperatures. These changes have powerful implications for agricultural production, air quality, real estate values, electricity generation, public health and California’s renowned quality of life.

Gravelly Ford Water District Groundwater Sustainability Plan

Gravelly Ford Water District (GFWD) | March 19th, 2023

In 2022, the Technical representatives for the four GSPs representing the seven GSAs in the Madera Basin started meeting to revise the four GSP Plans to resolve deficienc

In 2022, the Technical representatives for the four GSPs representing the seven GSAs in the Madera Basin started meeting to revise the four GSP Plans to resolve deficiencies identified by the DWR in their review of the four GSP plans as stated in the September 2022 Incomplete determination letter. During the period from September 2022 through March 2023 the group also had meetings with DWR staff to establish direction on the recommendations in the DWR Incomplete letter. This Incomplete letter established a 180-day period to provide a revised GSP to address the deficiencies. The Technical group developed a corrective action plan to address the items identified by DWR staff in the Incomplete letter to address the noted deficiencies. During the last quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023 the four GSPs revised their individual plans to coordinate approaches and methodologies that would provide similar language and approach across the Madera Subbasin, those items being: • Resolve the potential deficiencies identified by DWR in their September 2022 incomplete determination letter, and discussed during five DWR consultation meetings between November 2022 and January 2023; • Summarize the progressive implementation actions taken by the GSAs since submission of the GSP in January 2020; • Recognize the Madera Subbasin GSAs’ clear and formal commitment to fund and implement a Domestic Well Mitigation Program beginning no later than January 1, 2024, including the execution of a memorandum of understanding (MOU); and • Reaffirm their commitment to implementing the GSP and achieving sustainable groundwater conditions by 2040.

Green Light for Adaptive Policies on the Colorado River

Water (MDPI) | December 21st, 2021

The Colorado River is a critical source of water supply for 40 million people in nine states spanning two nations in western North America. Overallocated in the 20th cent

The Colorado River is a critical source of water supply for 40 million people in nine states spanning two nations in western North America. Overallocated in the 20th century, its problems have been compounded by climate change in the 21st century. We review the basin’s hydrologic and water management history in order to identify opportunities for adaptive governance to respond to the challenge of reduced system flows and distill the ingredients of past successes. While significant advances have been made in the first two decades of the 21st century, these past actions have not been sufficient to halt the declines in the basin’s reservoirs. We find that the mix of federal, state, and local responsibility creates challenges for adaptation but that progress can be made through a combination of detailed policy option development followed by quick action at hydrologically driven moments of opportunity. The role of directives and deadlines from federal authorities in facilitating difficult compromises is noted. The current state of dramatically decreased overall flows has opened a window of opportunity for the adoption of water management actions that move the river system toward sustainability. Specific measures, based on the existing institutional framework and on policy proposals that have circulated within the Colorado River community, are suggested.

GreenPlan-IT Tracker

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) | June 14th, 2018

This technical memo describes the purpose, functions, and structure associated with the newest addition to the GreenPlan-IT Toolset, the GreenPlan-IT Tracker. It also sh

This technical memo describes the purpose, functions, and structure associated with the newest addition to the GreenPlan-IT Toolset, the GreenPlan-IT Tracker. It also shares the opportunities for further enhancement and how the tool can operate in concert with existing resources. Furthermore, this memo describes a licensing plan that would permit municipalities to use the tool in an ongoing way that scales to their needs. The memo concludes with a provisional roadmap for the development of future features and technical details describing the tool’s platform and data structures. About the GreenPlan-IT Toolkit Municipalities across the state and beyond are carefully planning and implementing green infrastructure in their developed landscape to restore key aspects of the natural water cycle. Green infrastructure helps to achieve stormwater attenuation and contaminant filtration by increasing the pervious surfaces in often sophisticated ways. Additionally, green infrastructure features, as city dwellers have come to realize, demonstrate multiple benefits in addition to improving surface porosity, such as peak, volume, and load reductions, urban heat island mitigation, traffic calming, carbon sequestration, wildlife habitat, natural aesthetics, and others. The benefits are substantial, but so are the potential costs. GreenPlan-IT helps planners to make smart decisions in the types and locations of green infrastructure, minimizing effort and cost while maximizing the effectiveness of the public and private investments. GreenPlan-IT modules are focused on green infrastructure planning and assessment, including the Site Locator Tool, Modeler, and Optimizer tools. Together the modular toolkit can be used to take a city from a position of not knowing where to consider GI placement (a daunting position given the MRP C3 and C11/12 requirements), to a plan that includes a list and map of feasible locations and a map of baseline flow and pollutant load conditions, and a selected optimal set of placement locations for achieving flow and load reductions at minimal cost. Now, with the advent of the GreenPlan-IT Tracker, there is also a web based tracker for quantifying and communicating the locations, types, and treatment areas of GI installations (the outputs of all the planning efforts) and quantifying the peak flows, volumes, and loads reduced (the outcomes of all the implementation and cost expenditure that the community is asking for).

Groundwater and Urban Growth in the San Joaquin Valley

Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) | September 20th, 2021

The San Joaquin Valley is ground zero for the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). It has the largest groundwater deficit in California and faces some of the

The San Joaquin Valley is ground zero for the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). It has the largest groundwater deficit in California and faces some of the worst impacts from overdraft, including land subsidence and drying wells. SGMA will help the region address these issues—while also building its climate resilience. But this will require hard work, not only by farmers—the largest groundwater users—but also by the valley’s urban water utilities, which serve a growing population while relying mostly on groundwater. As the valley confronts limits on groundwater pumping, urban utilities, local land use authorities, other water users, and state agencies must all engage to ensure a smooth transition for the region’s residents.

Groundwater Availability of the Central Valley Aquifer

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | July 15th, 2009

California’s Central Valley covers about 20,000 square miles and is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world. More than 250 different crops are grow

California’s Central Valley covers about 20,000 square miles and is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world. More than 250 different crops are grown in the Central Valley with an estimated value of $17 billion per year. This irrigated agriculture relies heavily on surface-water diversions and groundwater pumpage. Approximately one-sixth of the Nation’s irrigated land is in the Central Valley, and about one-fifth of the Nation’s groundwater demand is supplied from its aquifers. The Central Valley also is rapidly becoming an important area for California’s expanding urban population. Since 1980, the population of the Central Valley has nearly doubled from 2 million to 3.8 million people. The Census Bureau projects that the Central Valley’s population will increase to 6 million people by 2020. This surge in population has increased the competition for water resources within the Central Valley and statewide, which likely will be exacerbated by anticipated reductions in deliveries of Colorado River water to southern California. In response to this competition for water, a number of water-related issues have gained prominence: conservation of agricultural land, conjunctive use, artificial recharge, hydrologic implications of land-use change, and effects of climate variability. To provide information to stakeholders addressing these issues, the USGS Groundwater Resources Program made a detailed assessment of groundwater availability of the Central Valley aquifer system, that includes: (1) the present status of groundwater resources; (2) how these resources have changed over time; and (3) tools to assess system responses to stresses from future human uses and climate variability and change. This effort builds on previous investigations, such as the USGS Central Valley Regional Aquifer System and Analysis (CV-RASA) project and several other groundwater studies in the Valley completed by Federal, State and local agencies at differing scales. The principal product of this new assessment is a tool referred to as the Central Valley Hydrologic Model (CVHM) that accounts for integrated, variable water supply and demand, and simulates surface-water and groundwater-flow across the entire Central Valley system. The development of the CVHM comprised four major elements: (1) a comprehensive Geographic Information System (GIS) to compile, analyze and visualize data; (2) a texture model to characterize the aquifer system;(3) estimates of water-budget components by numerically modeling the hydrologic system with the Farm Process (FMP); and (4) simulations to assess and quantify hydrologic conditions. Chapter A: Introduction, Overview of Hydrogeology, and Textural Model of California’s Central Valley Chapter B: Groundwater Availability in California’s Central Valley Chapter C:  Numerical Model of the Hydrologic Landscape and Groundwater Flow in California’s Central Valley Appendix 1: Supplemental Information—Modifications to Modflow-2000 Packages and Processes

Groundwater Basins in California

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | November 1st, 1952

Section 229 of the Water Code directs that the California Department of Public Works, acting by and through the State Engineer, shall "investigate conditions of the quali

Section 229 of the Water Code directs that the California Department of Public Works, acting by and through the State Engineer, shall "investigate conditions of the quality of all the waters within the State, including saline waters, coastal and inland, as related to all sources of pollution of whatever nature and shall report thereon to the Legislature and to the appropriate regional water pollution control board annually, and may recommend any steps which might be taken to improve or protect the quality of such waters." In order to carry out the intent of Section 228 of the Water Code with respect to investigations of quality of ground waters within the State, it has been necessary first to compile available geologic data in order to locale and define the approximate boundaries of the more important ground water basins. A base index map showing the principal areas of groundwater storage in the State of California has not been previously prepared.  Such a map has been complied for this report in order to establish a uniform name and numbering system for groundwater basins, which can be expanded as new areas of ground water storage are identified, or as it is found necessary to divide the larger areas into subbasins.  It will serve as a basis for the planning of future investigations of the groundwater resources of California. This report identifies alluvial or valley fill areas which contain the principal groundwater resources in California.  However, the report is necessarily not complete because of lack of information for many areas of the state. In general, the areas of groundwater storage indentified include: (a) the major alluvium-filled areas of known groundwater storage and extraction; (b) the extensive areas of alluvial-fill in the Colorado, Mojave, and Basin and Range desert areas which may contain usable groundwater, though little is known of their storage capacity or recharge; and (c) some of the smaller alluvium-filled areas which may furnish a portion of local domestic, irrigation, municipal, and industrial water supplies.

Groundwater Level Monitoring and the Importance of Long-Term Water-Level Data

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | December 18th, 2001

Ground water is among the Nation’s most precious natural resources. Measurements of water levels in wells provide the most fundamental indicator of the status of this r

Ground water is among the Nation’s most precious natural resources. Measurements of water levels in wells provide the most fundamental indicator of the status of this resource and are critical to meaningful evaluations of the quantity and quality of ground water and its interaction with surface water. Water-level measurements are made by many Federal, State, and local agencies. It is the intent of this report to highlight the importance of measurements of ground-water levels and to foster a more comprehensive and systematic approach to the long-term collection of these essential data. Through such mutual efforts, the Nation will be better positioned in coming decades to make wise use of its extensive groundwater resources.

Groundwater Management and Safe Drinking Water in the San Joaquin Valley

Water Foundation | June 2nd, 2020