A California-European Union workshop on sustainable groundwater management and conflict resolution was held June 24-25, 2019 at...

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  A California-European Union workshop on sustainable groundwater management and conflict resolution was held June 24-25, 2019 at the University of California, Irvine. The workshop was hosted by Water UCI and sponsored by the Orange County Water District, Irvine Ranch Water District, Water Replenishment District of Southern California, State Water Resources Control Board, California Department of Water Resources, and USGS California Water Science Center.Jean Fried of UC Irvine presenting the rationale and the expected outcome of the workshop. Photo by Mimi Cruz. Gathering California water policy and decision-makers along with groundwater stakeholders and users, the workshop gave participants the opportunity to meet European Union (EU) water specialists, exchange experiences and ideas, and compare California and EU issues and solutions. The idea for a workshop bringing EU groundwater policy and decision-makers to California came from observing the similarities in management goals and overall regulatory pressures in both places. While groundwater management in California was non-regulatory and essentially voluntary until recently, the EU began legislating and managing groundwater in 1980, collecting more than 30 years of water and groundwater legislative experience, notwithstanding the specific legislation and regulations of each Member State. However, the passage of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) in 2014 set California on a fundamentally new course for how it manages groundwater. And, as already existing agencies, new Groundwater Sustainability Agencies, and regulators grapple with how to comply with SGMA, it proved beneficial for high-level EU water management specialists to meet with their California counterparts and various stakeholders. During the workshop, participants shared their experiences, discussed joint issues, and proposed solutions to shared challenges. I Hope that you find the blog about the workshop of interest. Here is the link: https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=30879  

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