California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act

California’s persistent drought has really underscored groundwater as a crucial source of water for the state. Unfortunately, our groundwater has been drastically over-pumped and the tools needed to manage our groundwater effectively haven’t always been available. The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), which went into effect in January, gives local agencies the opportunity to develop groundwater sustainability plans and better manage priority groundwater basins in California.

Sustainable Conservation has recognized for some time that groundwater overdraft and farming-related pollution are serious problems that need to be addressed innovatively and in partnership with agricultural water users. As such, we’ve been pioneering on-the-ground methods to improve groundwater quantity and quality for years – including by promoting more-efficient groundwater use and groundwater replenishment on the central coast and in the Central Valley.

We look forward to putting our experience to date to use: our innovative work with on-farm groundwater recharge and farming efficiency can offer groundwater sustainability agencies effective tools to help them achieve the law’s requirements for sustainable groundwater use.