Last week, the California legislature passed a package of groundwater legislation — AB1739, authored by Assemblymember Roger Dickinson, and companion bills SB1168 and SB1319.  The bills will now go to Governor Brown, who is expected to sign them.

CalTrout has been advocating for groundwater reform in California, the only state that does not currently regulate groundwater (see our June letter to legislators on the topic).  Legislation is needed to ensure that groundwater and surface water resources are managed in a sustainable and integrated manner to avoid impacts to stream flow levels and the biological resources that depend upon the stream flows, such as cold-water fish.

Together, these bills do just that.  They would require local agencies to implement groundwater management programs and establish the conditions for state intervention in groundwater management.  Assemblyman Dickinson’s website summarized the critical policy changes the bills address in order to achieve sustainable management of CA’s groundwater basins as:

• establish key definitions that will guide sustainable groundwater management plans and programs, including the definition of sustainable groundwater.
• require local land-use plans to take into consideration adopted groundwater sustainability plans and to assess the impact of land-use on groundwater resources.
• focus sustainable groundwater management on those basins which are at high or medium risk of overdraft
• define the components of a groundwater sustainability plan and  authorize a variety of tools for local groundwater management entities to use in achieving sustainable groundwater levels.
• require establishment of an entity to develop a local groundwater management plan within 2 years.  They then have 3 – 5 years to develop and implement a sustainable groundwater basin management plan.  They then have 20 years to achieve a manageable groundwater basin.  Plans must be reviewed every 5 years and update if necessary.
• provide for a state “backstop” to allow the State Water Resources Control Board to develop an interim plan for a basin when local communities have not met requirements set forth in the legislation.
• require the inclusion of diverse interests in the community when developing and adopting the plan.

In addition to advocating for groundwater reform, CalTrout also worked hard to get $100M in the 2014 water bond to fund such reform.

We’re optimistic that Governor Brown will sign these bills and set the stage for more sustainable use of California’s most precious resource.