California Might Restrict Groundwater Pumping

California is the Only State in America Completely Lacking in Groundwater Regulation, the Effects have been Contentious in this Drought Year

For as long as California has been a state, groundwater has remained its most exclusively private natural resource.Property owners,in many cases, can drill a well and extract all the water they want, without so much as a friendly wave to neighbors or any government agency.

Aquifers statewide are being rapidly depleted, according to available data, in some cases causing vast swaths of the overlying land to collapse and causing millions of dollars in damage to surface infrastructure, such as roads and canals.

All this may swiftly change, pending the governor's signature.

On Aug. 29, the Legislature passed a package of bills that impose sweeping new regulations on groundwater extraction. If signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, the laws would create new local agencies with broad powers to restrict groundwater pumping, shut down harmful wells and impose fines and criminal penalties for failing to allow inspections.

Existing state agencies, including theDepartment of Water Resourcesand StateWater ResourcesControl Board, would be granted new powers to oversee these local agencies and take over their programs, if deemed inadequate.

The overarching goal, according to the legislation, is to ensure California's groundwater is managed sustainably, generally defined as avoiding "chronic lowering" of aquifer levels.

It is not a small issue: Groundwater makes up about 60 percent of all fresh water consumed in California during drought years, and about 40 percent in average years.

Dozens of agricultural groups opposed the legislation, saying it would add burdensome regulation and cost, and potentially undermine the economic health of farms. The laws are written to exempt small domestic well owners who pump less than 2 acre-feet of water per year. But thousands of larger extractors will fall under the new regulations.

Among the opponents is the Northern California Water Association, a group that representsproperty owners,water agencies and farmers in theSacramento Valley.The group's president and CEO, David Guy, said there are probably 50,000 landowners in theCentral Valleyalone who would be affected by the new laws.

Under the legislation, each of these landowners eventually would come under the jurisdiction of a new local "groundwater sustainability agency." These agencies would prepare a groundwater plan, which, for the first time, will set rules on when and how much water each well owner can pump. The local agency could be a county government or a new entity formed by residents specifically to comply with the law.

If no local agency emerges, the state would prepare a groundwater plan for the area.

Either way, in basic terms, the government would be telling farmers how to operate their wells.

For example, many wells, because they have never been regulated, lack flow meters to measure how much water is extracted.Local groundwater agencies are likely to require well owners to install flow meters as a first step to understand the demand on aquifers. An agricultural flow meter can cost several thousand dollars to buy and install, and many farms have several wells. There are ongoing costs involved in collecting data from these meters.

Local agencies would be empowered to impose fees on well owners to cover the costs of preparing a sustainability plan, monitoring pumping and carrying out enforcement. The agencies could undertake long-termwater managementactivities. For example, they would be able to buy water to recharge aquifers and buy land to construct lakes or settling basins where that water could be pooled to soak into the ground.

In addition, the agencies would be charged with protecting the quality of groundwater and have the ability to take actions to prevent pollution.

The legislation empowers local agencies to enter private land to inspect wells and pumps within their jurisdiction through a court-issued inspection warrant. Failure to heed such a warrant would be considered a misdemeanor crime.

In most cases, Fogg said, local agencies are likely to develop complex computer models to monitor their aquifers. These would be used to help predict how changes in pumping,land useand other factors affect groundwater levels. In many areas, significant research would be required before aquifers are well understood.

The new laws require local agencies to address the interaction between groundwater basins and creeks and rivers in the vicinity, a connection long neglected in Californiawater management.For example, a local agency could decide that "sustainable" groundwater management includes depletingsurface waterto some degree. Whether that would pass muster with state officials, and with wildlife agencies, remains to be seen.

TheDepartment of Water Resourcesand State Water Resources Control Board, if the laws are enacted, would ramp up new programs to oversee local groundwater agencies. The bills require them to periodically review the sustainability plans. If a plan is found to be inadequate, the water board can take over groundwater management in a local area after holding hearings.

Source: The Sacramento Bee

Read More Related Content On This Topic -Click Here

Media

Taxonomy

• Policy
• Groundwater Recharge