Overview Groundwater Management in California

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Overview -- Groundwater Management in California

• Western States Water Council
• April 2004

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GW resources background

• Supports about 30 of California urban ag needs
  in average water years
• Important drought resource
• Supplies majority of states public water systems
  (largest urban agencies use surface water, almost
  all small systems use groundwater)

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Rights to use of groundwater

• Not administered by State (unlike surface water)
• Developed through case law

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Case law examples

• City of Los Angeles v. City of San Fernando
  (1975) mutual prescription not applicable
  between public agencies
• Niles Sand Gravel Co. v. Alameda County Water
  District (1974) public agencies can store water
  underground recover stored water

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Impetus for GW management

• Seawater intrusion widespread by 1950s
• Overdraft, land subsidence
• Fear of exports
• State financial assistance
• Other

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Physical realities of GW management

• Limit/regulate extraction
• Develop new in-basin surface supply
• Bring in new imported water source
• Storage/conjunctive use projects require
  available aquifer capacity, conveyance, and
  surface water source

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GW management techniques

• Basin adjudication in court (19)
• Special or general act districts
• AB 3030 plans (gt160 agencies)
• County ordinances (28)

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Basin adjudications

• Expensive
• Entail years in court system

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AB 3030 plans

• Enabling legislation enacted in 1992
• Plan adoption is voluntary
• Hydrologic/hydrogeologic/political boundaries
  often differ
• Plans may be multi-agency
• Are they effective?

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GW storage projects increasing

• Existing large projects w/ ballpark of 10 MAF
  total managed capacity
• More than 500M in state financial assistance
  authorized 1996-2000
• Many small and medium projects now in
  planning stages, reflecting availability of
  substantial state funding

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