Shop – California Water Library

Page

Showing
311-321 of 665

Per Page

Sort By

Groundwater Management Plan Goleta Groundwater Basin

Goleta Water District (GWD) | May 11th, 2010

Summary

Goleta Water District (“GWD”) and La Cumbre Mutual Water Company (“La Cumbre”), the purveyors of groundwater in the Goleta Groundwater Basin, joined in developing

View Document Download Now Email

Groundwater Pumping Allocations under California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act: Considerations for Groundwater Sustainability Agencies

Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) | July 1st, 2018

Summary

The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) became law on January 1, 2015, forever changing the manner in which groundwater will be managed in California. It requir

The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) became law on January 1, 2015, forever changing the manner in which groundwater will be managed in California. It requires local Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) to be formed and Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs) to be prepared in order to achieve sustainable groundwater management within 20 years of adopting a GSP. SGMA applies to 127 medium and high priority groundwater subbasins around the state. Over 100 of the medium and high priority groundwater subbasins are in conditions of chronic overdraft (DWR, 2018), meaning average annual groundwater extractions exceed average annual water replenishment to many of the subbasins. These conditions have resulted in a variety of undesirable impacts to the subbasin, including, but not limited to, increasing depth to groundwater, reductions of groundwater storage, seawater intrusion, degraded water quality, and land subsidence. In many subbasins, groundwater overdraft conditions will require GSAs to impose reductions in pumping in order to achieve sustainable conditions in the subbasin. To do this, GSAs will need set a limit or “cap” on the overall amount of groundwater that is removed from the subbasin, assigning portions of this capped amount to groundwater pumpers in the form of a pumping allocation. Making pumping allocation decisions will be a difficult task for GSAs, as it will require restricting access to groundwater resources upon which the agricultural community, cities and towns, and others depend. SGMA expressly does not create or adjust groundwater rights and the basic law of groundwater rights remains largely unchanged. Simply put, this means that while GSAs are tasked with managing groundwater with the goal of bringing groundwater conditions into balance and stopping further depletions and other undesirable impacts, they do not have the authority to change or modify groundwater rights. Thus, GSAs should be mindful of the basic law of groundwater as articulated by the common law and a series of adjudicatory court decisions over the last 100 plus years. The subject of this paper is how to address this dilemma, with the reasoning that if GSAs devise groundwater allocation schemes in a manner consistent with the fundamental principles of groundwater law, the schemes are likely to be more durable, and GSAs are more likely to achieve sustainable groundwater management in a legally defensible manner. To do this, we first provide background on the nature of groundwater rights and how the hierarchy of groundwater rights may affect the legal defensibility of pumping allocations imposed by GSAs upon pumpers. We then discuss the role of groundwater allocations and methods for allocating groundwater pumping rights, and then offer a suggested allocation approach with criteria for consideration when using this approach. To help readers work through the allocation process, the paper includes a hypothetical decision tree graphic. We also discuss the importance of measurement, tracking, and enforcement, as well as additional considerations under SGMA before offering some concluding remarks.

View Document Download Now Email

Groundwater Quality Protection Strategy: A "Roadmap" for the Central Valley Region

Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (CVRWQCB) | January 8th, 2010

Summary

The California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Region (Central Valley Water Board) recognizes that past regulatory approaches have not protected all

The California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Region (Central Valley Water Board) recognizes that past regulatory approaches have not protected all groundwater from historical and current practices associated with land applications of waste. For example, in some areas of the Central Valley Region groundwater produced from some aquifers that serve individual and community drinking water systems have been polluted and are unsafe to drink. In response, the Central Valley Water Board adopted Resolution R5-2008-0181 directing staff to develop a Groundwater Quality Protection Strategy (Roadmap) through an active stakeholder process. Developing a Roadmap for the Central Valley Region is not initiating a new regulatory program. This Roadmap is intended to be an overarching framework or an outline for long range planning. By presenting it to the Central Valley Water Board it allows the Board review and approval of the overarching plan as well as an opportunity to provide direction to staff. Further, it defines the regulatory programs to be enhanced, and identifies ways to expand on all partnering opportunities with other federal, state, and/or local agencies to protect groundwater quality. Following approval of the Roadmap, workplan(s) will be developed for the higher priority future actions to provide a more detailed description of tasks, timelines, and resources required to implement those actions. In order to make this Roadmap useful to the public, policy-makers, and the Central Valley Water Board, a starting point to map a course for the future had to be identified. The starting point for the Roadmap is the background (Section 3) information on agencies and organization, the Central Valley Region’s basins, and primary constituents of concern. Current Groundwater Quality Protection Programs (Section 4) being implemented by the Central Valley Water Board describe how groundwater quality is being protected now. To assist in the evaluation of existing groundwater quality protection programs and identification of future actions, Stakeholder’s Concerns and Issues (Section 5) were also considered. The final section of the Strategy is the “Roadmap” (Section 6) which focuses on future actions that can be implemented within the next five to twenty years. To illustrate the Roadmap, a description is provided of three basic elements: a) future actions; b) how the actions are prioritized; and c) resource needs to implement the actions. Implementation of future actions, are not limited to the Central Valley Water Board. Future actions may be implemented by: the Central Valley Water Board; other agencies or organization; or through a partnership between agencies.

View Document Download Now Email

Groundwater Quality Protection Strategy: A “Roadmap” for the Central Valley Region

California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) | August 2nd, 2010

Summary

The California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Region (Central Valley Water Board) recognizes that past regulatory approaches have not protected all

View Document Download Now Email

Groundwater Resource Management Fundamentals: Groundwater Basin Connectivity

United Water Conservation District (UWCD) | May 14th, 2014

Summary

As Ventura County and the rest of the State of California continue to deal with drought conditions there is an increased interest and reliance on groundwater reso

As Ventura County and the rest of the State of California continue to deal with drought conditions there is an increased interest and reliance on groundwater resources. Over the past decade or so the CA Department of Water Resources and others have promoted water supply planning by watershed groups or other local entities, and this approach has generally been accepted by planners and stakeholders. In Ventura County, there is significant groundwater flow between defined groundwater basins both within and between watersheds, and stream flow in the dry seasons is commonly dependent on groundwater discharges to stream channels. Groundwater flow between connected subbasins has long been recognized in southern Ventura County, most notably in the groundwater basins that underlie the watersheds of the Santa Clara River and Calleguas Creek. The intent of this Open-File Report is to document the historical evolution of the concept of the hydrologic connectivity of groundwater basins in the Santa Clara River valley and the Oxnard Plain coastal area, and to summarize the underlying scientific data supporting the hydrologic connectivity principle. The idea of groundwater basin connectivity is not new, and in fact, predates the formation of United Water Conservation District (United), but is a concept that is embraced by United as a key tenet of their groundwater management activities. As a primary groundwater management entity for the Santa Clara River valley and Oxnard Plain area, United has extensive datasets supporting the concept of groundwater flow or movement (i.e., connectivity) between the subbasins in its jurisdiction. The current drought conditions being experienced in Ventura County have reinvigorated a desire by several entities to develop basin-wide or regional water supply management plans. Clearly, the hydrologic relationships between the groundwater basins are important factors for recognition in water supply management plans. The effects of groundwater extraction or wastewater discharge, for example, impact downgradient subbasins and respective stakeholders. Recognition of this important hydrologic relationship is fundamental to creating long-term sustainable groundwater resource management strategies. The current regulatory setting in California includes several attempts to “manage” groundwater resources or water resource, in general, but those attempts are often focused at a local level (e.g., Urban Water Management Plans, Agricultural Water Management Plans) that do not account for the regional nature of this resource. These “entity-specific” plans are not, by themselves, sufficient for water resource sustainability planning purposes as they frequently ignore or minimize the importance of the regional nature of the hydrologic system. This Open-File Report has been prepared to provide Ventura County water resource management agencies (e.g., Fox Canyon Groundwater Management Agency, Ventura County Watershed Protection District, United Water Conservation District) and local municipalities and businesses that may be stakeholders in the development of water resource management and sustainability plans a guiding framework for thinking about how the hydrologic systems in the Santa Clara River valley and the greater Oxnard Plain coastal area function.

View Document Download Now Email

Groundwater Sustainability Agency Support and Sustainable Groundwater Management Planning

Freshwater Trust | January 16th, 2018

Summary

California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) poses significant challenges for the expedited establishment of Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSA) and

View Document Download Now Email

Groundwater Sustainability Plan for the Northern and Central Delta-Mendota Regions

San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority (SLDMWA) | November 30th, 2019

Summary

Table of Contents Executive Summary Introduction Plan Area Governance and Administration Outreach and Communication Basin Setting Sustainable M

View Document Download Now Email

Groundwater Update 2013: San Joaquin River Hydrologic Region Report

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | April 1st, 2016

Summary

The primary goal of the San Joaquin River Hydrologic Region (San Joaquin River region) groundwater update is to expand information about region-specific groundwater condi

View Document Download Now Email

Guide for Developing Onsite Water Systems to Support Regional Water Resilience

Pacific Institute | January 26th, 2023

Summary

Across the United States, urban communities face growing water challenges, from water scarcity to flooding, pollution, aging water infrastructure, and more. These challen

View Document Download Now Email

Guidebook for Implementation of SB 610 and SB 221 to assist water suppliers, cities, and counties in integrating water and land use planning

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | October 10th, 2003

Summary

Senate Bills 610 (Chapter 643, Statutes of 2001) and Senate Bill 221 (Chapter 642, Statutes of 2001) amended state law, effective January 1, 2002, to improve the link bet

Senate Bills 610 (Chapter 643, Statutes of 2001) and Senate Bill 221 (Chapter 642, Statutes of 2001) amended state law, effective January 1, 2002, to improve the link between information on water supply availability and certain land use decisions made by cities and counties. SB 610 and SB 221 are companion measures which seek to promote more collaborative planning between local water suppliers and cities and counties. Both statutes require detailed information regarding water availability to be provided to the city and county decision-makers prior to approval of specified large development projects. Both statutes also require this detailed information be included in the administrative record that serves as the evidentiary basis for an approval action by the city or county on such projects. Both measures recognize local control and decision making regarding the availability of water for projects and the approval of projects. Under SB 610, water assessments must be furnished to local governments for inclusion in any environmental documentation for certain projects (as defined in Water Code 10912 [a]) subject to the California Environmental Quality Act. Under SB 221, approval by a city or county of certain residential subdivisions requires an affirmative written verification of sufficient water supply. If coordinated and comprehensive water supply planning is underway at the time that the SB 610-water assessment is prepared, compliance with SB 221 will be greatly facilitated. SB 221 is intended as a ‘fail safe’ mechanism to ensure that collaboration on finding the needed water supplies to serve a new large subdivision occurs when it should – before construction begins. Not every project that is subject to the requirements of SB 610 would also require the mandatory water verification of SB 221 (e.g. if there is no subdivision map approval). Conversely, not every project that is subject to the requirements of SB 221 would also require the environmental document to contain an SB 610 water supply assessment. Projects approved before January 1, 2002 were not subject to the requirements of SB 610 or SB 221; however, some projects may have been subject to the requirement to prepare a water supply assessment as set forth in Senate Bill 901 of 1995 (Chapter 881, Statues of 1995). A foundational document for compliance with both SB 610 and SB 221 is the Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP). Both of these statutes repeatedly identify the UWMP as a planning document that, if properly prepared, can be used by a water supplier to meet the standards set forth in both statutes. Thorough and complete UWMPs will allow water suppliers to use UWMPs as a foundation to fulfill the specific requirements of these two statutes. Cities, counties, water districts, property owners, and developers will all be able to utilize this document when planning for and proposing new projects.

View Document Download Now Email

← Prev

Page : 32

Groundwater Management Plan Goleta Groundwater Basin

Groundwater Pumping Allocations under California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act: Considerations for Groundwater Sustainability Agencies

Groundwater Quality Protection Strategy: A "Roadmap" for the Central Valley Region

Groundwater Quality Protection Strategy: A “Roadmap” for the Central Valley Region

Groundwater Resource Management Fundamentals: Groundwater Basin Connectivity

Groundwater Sustainability Agency Support and Sustainable Groundwater Management Planning

Groundwater Sustainability Plan for the Northern and Central Delta-Mendota Regions

Groundwater Update 2013: San Joaquin River Hydrologic Region Report

Guide for Developing Onsite Water Systems to Support Regional Water Resilience

Guidebook for Implementation of SB 610 and SB 221 to assist water suppliers, cities, and counties in integrating water and land use planning

Filter Results

Type

Topic

Keywords

Publisher

Basin

Hydrological Region

Search for:

Search the California Water Library

Type

Topic

Keywords

Hydrological Region

Basin